The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028729402 \^^^»^»»»»-»»»»»»»s f resettto U '{ * (Ar (ir ( Ar , )f ■ )fi # )'f (Ar , >#. ( k }'f VOYAGES HOLLMD TO AMERICA, A. D. 1632 TO 1644. DAVID PETERSON DE VRIES. STransIateti ftom tje SButcJ, BY HENRY C. MURPHY. NEW YOEK: 1853. INTEODUCTION. It is remarkable that, after Hudson, only one of the numefous Dutch navigators and travellers has, as far as is known, published a journal, or narrative, of voyages to New Ketherland, during the period of the possession of the country by their nation. Without stopping to speculate upon the cause, we deem the fact a*^sufficient warrant to authorize an attempt to render the account which stands thus prominently alone, accessible to the English reader ; particularly as the work has merits of its own, which make it a valuable and necessary aid to those who would coirrectly understand the ante-Anglican portion of our history. It bears the following title : J^oetb histoeiael ENDE JOUKNAELS AENTEYCKENINGE VAN VEESCHEYDEN VOYAGIENS IN DE VIEE DEELEN DES WeEELDTS — EONDE, ALS EUEOPA, AfEICA, AsIA, ENDE AmEEIKA GEDAEN, DOOE D. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE TRIES, Aetilleeij:Meestee VANDE Ed : M : Heeeen Gecommitteeede Eaden van Staten van West-Veieslandt ENDE 't JSTooedee-quae- TIEE WAEEIN VEEHAELT WEED WAT BaTAILJES BY TE WATEE GEDAEN HEEPT: YDEE LaNDTSCHAP ZIJN GeDIEETE, GeVOGELT, WAT SOOETE* van ViSSEN ENDE.. WAT WILDE MBNSCHEN NAEE 't LEVEN GECONTEEFAEYT, ENDE VAN DE BOSSCHEN ENDE EaVIEEEN MET HAEE VeUCHTEN. t' HOORN. voor -David Pietersz. de Vries, Ariillerij-Meester van 't Noorder-quartiev. Tot Alchnaer, by Symon Oornelisz. Brekegeest. Anno 1655. It is a small quarto volume of 192 pages, printed in black-letter, and is illustrated with a 6 INTRODUCTION. portrait of De Vries, and eighteen plates; two of them representing his encounters with the pirates in the Mediter- ranean, four relating to scenes in the East Indies, and twelve to the Indians and natural history of America. We cannot say any thing in favour of the plates connected with his voyages to America. They are for the most part copied from Champlain, and look indeed very much like the identical plates used to illustrate an edition- of his voyages to Canada. The book is one of the rarest to be found, — no printed copy being known to have been extant in this country before the one from which the following translation has been mad*, and which was obtained by James Lenox, Esq. A copy in manuscript is among the Du Simiti^re papers, in the Phila- delphia Library ; and from that manuscript extracts were translated by Dr. Troost, and published in the first volume of the second series of the collections of the New York Historical Society. We now give the journals of the voyages to America entire ; and though there be much in them relating to mere navigating, and sailing directions, and to his voyage to Guiana, of no importance to this portion of the country, yet we deem it due to De Vries,. that his relations should be unmutilated ; and to the historical reader, that he should know all that the author has written, in connection with his voyages to America. The style is plain and homely, and we have studied to render it faithfully rather than ornately, ex- hibiting the same characteristic. We have also, as a general rule, given the proper names in the same orthography as that of the original, although the same name is often differently spelt ; because this very variation often affords the best means of determining the orthoepy of the word. The history of De Vries is, in the absence of any known biography, to be gathered by us from his book. He was born at Kochelle in 1593, whither his father went from Hoorn, after the murder of William of Orange*in 1584. His mother was an Amsterdam woman. When he was four years old his parents returned with him to Holland. He appears to INTEODUCTION. 7 have been married before 1620. He made, six voyages ; the first of which was undertaken in 1618, when he sailed to the Mediterranean for a cargo of grain, returning in about a year's time. During that voyage he was attacked by several Turk:ish galleys near Oephalonia, but succeeded in repulsing them. In June, 1620, he sailed from the Texel, bound to Newfoundland, for fish — thencS to the Mediterranean. He arrived at New- foundland the last of July. We give here that portion of his journal of this voyage relating to his stay on the American coast, as illustrative in some degree of the nature of the New- foundland fishery at that time, and as- really an American voyage, thougb not so classed by the author. "On the 10th of July, a small vessel of Plymouth, England, met us of about sixty lasts, coming from New England, having been there a-fishing. . " The 18th saw a high icebetg ; at first it looked like a ship, "but on approaching nearer, we found it] an iceberg of won- derful height. It seemed impossible that we should encounter ice in July, in latitude 37. " The 25th we sounded in twenty-seven fathoms on the bank of Newfoundland, and soon discovered it covered with ships fishing for cod. We bore down to them in order to hail them, but observing that I was not a fiBbdng craft, they would not wait for me to come up, and went away. One among the whole remained. As I came close- to him, he made sail, but he had lain still too long, and I overtook him. I desired him to strike his topsail, but he would not listen to it, when I let fire at him my bow, gun, and put a shot through his mainsail. He immediately struck, and we hailed him as to what latitude he was in, and for some fish. He answered that they had ob- served no latitude in eight days, as it is always foggy upon the bank. He let slip, on a line from his stern, ten or twelve codfish, which we hauled in, and tied in their place two or three pieces of j)ork and beef, so that we paid him well for his fish, and let him go. " The 29th, at night, we came upon the coast of Newfound- land, and as I went up on the watch to walk where one of the 8 INTEODUCTION. two mates was oa the look-out, I heard a penguin * and the cry of one of the look-outs on board of an English vessel, 'Shore! shore!' at which I was frightened, and asked him where the land was. He said on the lee. I told the man at the helm to put his helm a-lee, in order to stand about, which he did, and the ship luckily turned. I went aft to brace the topsail, and stood upon the pilot's house, alid as the ship turned we felt the spray of the breakers, so that we could not have gone nearer and saved the ship, cargo and crew. We stood out in the opposite direction from that on which we had run in, and tacked back again at break of day, in order to see where we had been in the night. We found three high rocks, and if we had gone against them, cat nor cur of us would have escaped. We saw here great numbers of Basques' boats, who fled before us, supposing we were freebooters. We at length spoke one, who told us we were in the Bay of Plaisance, where the Basques fish. He was shy of us, and did not want to come on board, but rowing over to us in front we supposed that he intended to come aboard ; but he raised his foresail on the mast, and being a quarter on the weather-guage of us, forgot to come back, and went off. It was very foggy all day. We set our course for Cape Kace, in order to get among the English. " The 2d of August, with calm, fine, pleasant weather, we saw Cape Eace. "The 4th we ran along the shore and came to a bay called Cappelinge, where a Veerelander f was lying, and seven or eight fishermen, from whom we intended to buy fish, but they had sold out. I took one of 'their fishing-boats, which was made similar to the Basques' boats, and well adapted for rowing, and rowed along the coast, which has many bays and harbours, in which the fishermen keep with their ships. Having visited many of these harbours, I returned again to * The cry of the penguin long served the mariner as a warning on that foggy coast, and the bird was, in consequence, protected by law from destruction, f From Veere, in Zealand. INTBODUCTION. 9 my ship, which I reached on the 10th. Besides my vessel there was a small boat of fifty or sixty lasts,* with six guns, which had come out of the Virginias with tobacco, in order to exchange the tobacco for fish. " The 12th, weighed anchor, and came to a harbour called St. John's, where sixteen fishing-ships were lying, with whom I traded and left my money. This harbour is narrow at its entrance, where there are two rocks, but above water, so that they can be avoided. It is so roomy and broad within that an hundred ships may lie in it; and it runs so far inland that the sea cannot be seen. These fishing-ships lie without any men in them while the latter are fishing. They cover their boats with their sails, and, placing them on the land, build from them what they call ' stages,' fourteen or fifteen feet over the water, in order, when their ships are full of fish, they may un- load upon them. Whilst we were lying here a bear was caught in a trap, having been jerked up with a swipe, and so left hanging while the fishermen pierced him with their guns and pikes until he was dead ; they then salted him and eat him, and I eat some myself. There was one caught, or rather caught and shot himself, in. this way. They placed a loaded gun where this bear wasin the habit of coming every night to lick up the train oil, and tied a small cord to the cock of the gun, and a piece of fish at the end of the cord, as a bait to attract him, which the bear pulling at, the gun went off, and the ball entered his brpast .and came out behind. I saw this myself. This island is about as large as England, and is full of woods of birch, pine, and fir trees. The fruits which I saw were nothing but strawberries and blueberries. The island is, as before stated, full of harbours and bays, where there are an- nually five hundred fishermen, English and French, as well as Basques. The English fish on the middle coast, the .French and Basques are on the south, the other on the north side of the island. This coast is full of fish, altogether cod, which they dry in order to take to Italy, Spain, and France. Even * A last is about two tons. 10 INTBODUCTION. in England many are consumed instead of the stockfish eaten in the Netherlands. There are many salmon in the fresh rivers. Whilst we were lying here, there came into the har- bour a sloop from the north, who told us that at the north, at a place called Parlehan, fifteen hundred salmon were taken at one haul, and that the net was so heavy in consequence of the great number of them, they could scarcely get it on land. This is what I know of the country. " The 10th of September we weighed anchor, and set sail, five of us in company, among us a caraval from Avere, in Por- tugal. Going out, two ships came up to us, one of eight guns, commanded by Mr. Geerner van Zonden, the other mounting ten guns, by Mr. Fox. " The 30th Cape St. Vincent hove in sight." As the little fleet approached Carthagena, in Spain, they encountered eight Turkish ships, commanded by a Dutch ren- egade of the name of Veenboer. It was the 10th of October, at sunrise, that they prepared for battle. De Vries ran up the Vice Admiral's flag, summoned together his men, thirty in number, sang with them the 140th Psalm, distributed brandy among thom, and on some of them showing signs of cowardice, pricked them to duty with his sword. Two of the piratical craft disposed themselves to engage with De Vries, one of them mounting twenty-eight and the other thirty-three guns, while De Vries' ship had only fourteen. These vessels were strongly manned, one with 250 and the other with 300 men. It seems strange at the present day that a naval fight with such dis- parity of force could have been long kept up, yet these ships were engaged the whole day. Towards night, however, the Turkish admiral, Veenboer, was killed. The pirates then hauled off, and the next day De Vries entered the bay of Car- thagena. Here he remained till the 10th of January, 1621, having in the mean time disposed of his cargo of fish. He then sailed for Taharcha for a load of grain ; thence to Genoa, and thence to Toulon, on the 12th of July. Here he entered into a contract with the Duke of Guise, admiral of the King of France, to serve with his ship by the month, and continued in INTBODUCTIOK. 11 this service until December. The Duke then desired him to - engage in his service against Eochelle, but he declined, on the ground that he could not fight against his religion. The Duke respected his scruples, and gave him a diamond ring on parting. After freighting for some time in the Mediterranean, De Vries heard of the death of two of his partners in Holland, whereupon he sold his ship and set out for Marseilles by land, for Dieppe, where he took ship, and arrived at Eotterdam in August, 1623. He prepared, in the following spring, to make a voyage to Canada, which led to a controversy with the West India Company, thus related by him: — "The 24th of March, (1624,) being at home, and my own means not permitting me to buy a ship, I bought a small vessel for the purpose, of going from the fishery to the coast of Canada for peltries, and to that end entered into partnership with Jan Mackyn, because every one had not liberty to go there, and no one except those of the West India Company. The ship being ready, two of the Be- winthebbers (managers) of the Nineteen of the West India Company of Amsterdam, came and said that they had au- thority to cause the vessels to be seized for their service, which they did. I showed them several more suitable ships than mine, but they were not satisfied with them, and desired mine. It seemed as if they were curious* because I wanted to go to the West Indies. I protested against their proceedings, and sought redress in the Commercial Court, whereby they were adjudged to release my vessel from the seizure and let her go, Upon this they appealed, in order that my time would slip by, so that I could not prosecute my voyage. Understanding this, I started for the Hague to my father-in-law, who had been four or five weeks in attendance upon the Assembly of the States of Holland. " The 28th of the same month I came to the Hague, and presented besides my commissionf from the King of France, under the Admiral Montmorency, a petition (as I desired to go * This is the origiaal — ^it is used in the Bense of trembled. \ Obtained through his pai-tner at Rochelle, Jan Mackyn. 12 INTRODUCTION. far beyond their limits, and to Canada,) that I might be re- leased from my arrest ; whereupon I obtained an open letter to the nineteen Bewinthebbers, wherein it was set forth as follows : That as they were a newly organized company, they should be careful not to get into any difference with any neighbouring princes, their friendly allies. With this letter I returned to Amsterdam, and handed it to the Nineteen ; and as those who are inclined to go to the fishery in Canada must sail in March, or at the latest in the beginning of April, they, well knowing this, sought to detain me from time to time ; and seeing at last that they could no longer prevent me, or- dered me not to go within their limits. Whereupon I said that I had not forged my commission, and that they had no right to prescribe laws to the King of France where he should go to traffic. Finally, the time having passed by, I was com- pelled to discharge the crew at a great loss, and sold the ship to the West India Company at Dort. Those at Amsterdam had caused some of my cargo at Amsterdam to be seized, whereupon I sought by law to have it released, and succeeded so far that the lords caused it to be released without cost or loss. Having already sustained great damage, partly on the goods and partly from the lost time of the ship and crew, in- stead of going off it was necessary to stay at home; so I presented to the Bewinthebbers a petition in which I sought that they would be pleased to pay me according to justice the damage which I had sustained, but they were not willing to pay me, and said they would allow me nothing. I answered them that the business little concerned me, but my partners at Eochelle having learnt of the unjustifiable seizure of their goods, would not, without doubt, remain still, but would speedily demand of them full compensation for their unreason- able damage ; and I told them it was contrary to all reason that such a voyage should be frustrated in so unheard of a way, the more so because I had no other design than what was consistent with our business on the sea, to make our people of the Netherlands acquainted with those places ; and I told them for a leave-taking, that they might take down INTRODUCTION. 13 what had transpired that very morning, that they then paid no regard to the States-General. " The 8th of May I received a letter from Lieut. John Mackyn, who was one of the company, to fit me out for Canada, dated the 12th of April, in which he wondered greatly, 'that as the time was already passed, I had not come over, and that he had hired twenty-five Basques to go on the fishery. I had written to him the first moment of my arrest, but it appeared he had not received the letter, and for that reason being uninformed of what had happened to me, it well enough caused him to wonder. The 12th of May he wrote another letter, which I received the 6th of June, in which he directed me to come to Eochelle as speedily as possible to prosecute my voyage. " The 25th of July I left the Maese with Captain Liefhebber for Havre de Grace, where we arrived on the 28tb, and I immediately set out for Paris, which I reached on the 4th of August, and on the 7th I went with, the post to Eochelle, where I arrived on the 15th. After being there three weeks, I set out for French Bayonne, and on the way passed Bor- deaux, and arrived at Bayonne on the 8th of September, where I hired some Bascans to go with me on the fishery, and bought a ship here, which I sent with the Bascans to Eochelle, in order to fit it out there." De Vries proceeded to Eochelle, and remained there till April, 1625, when, being ready to sail, a tumult arose in that city, and his ship was taken into the service of the king of France. In March, 1627, he went, as captain, with a fleet of seven ships to the East Indies, and returned in June, 1630. The events of this voyage are of no interest. After being home about two months, his attention was directed to New Netherland, as detailed in the following pages, to which we must refer for the further incidents of his life. As his book was published under his own direction in 1655, he was then living, at the age of sixty-two years, holding an office under his government. Beyond this we knoW' nothing of his history. He was certainly a bold and skilful seaman. He 14 INTRODUCTION. was a religious man, and held the strongest Calvinistic doctrines. His narratives, where he speaks from personal knowledge, are entitled to the highest credit, for not only do they bear internal evidence of truth, but they have been corroborated in many instances by other evidence, and by the records which we have ; and being his daily observa- tions, taken down at the time, they have from this circum- stance a value which no narrative formed from memory could possess. His account of the Indians appears to have been compiled partly from his own observation, and partly frorn Champlain, Megapolensis, and others, and is, therefore, not of the same original merit as the rest of his work. His relation of the dis- graceful and disastrous Indian war, in which he was an actor and friend of the Indians, is the only authentic one extant, of any completeness, except that of the government, and is, therefore, of great interest and value. SHOKT HISTOKICAL AND Journal notC0 Of several Yoyages made in the four parts of the "World, namely, Europe, Africa, Asia, and America, ByD. DAVID PIETERSZ. de VRIES, Ordnance-Master of the Most Noble Lords, the Committed Council of the States of West Friesland and the North Quarter t)c l)a0 l)a& bg tottUr; ^at)^ (Countrg its Animals, Mxb% kinb of Jislics an5 %(mcL%t ilTm, — (ounterfcitfb to tl)e Cife,— anb llje iDoobs ttttb Eiocra toitt) tt)eir |)roitntt0. HOOEN. For David Pietersz. de Vries, Ordnance-Master of the North Quarter. At Alokmaer, by Symon Oornelisz. Brekegeest. Anno i655. Tlie ivhile, around the ylohe'sfour quarters, I did steer,, I, on the open helmet, lore a silver sphere. V To THE Noble, Mtghtt Loeds, the Committed CoinsrciL OP the States of West Friesland and the Noeth Qxjaetee, Together with the JSfoble^ Very-learned Di/rck Van Foreest, Doctor in loth laws^ cmd Secreta/ry of the Noble^ Mighty Lords, the Committed Oounoil of the States of West Friesland and the North Quarter. The Noble, Mighty Lords, the Roman. Senate, have always had as a maxim and rule of conduct, les loix ne sontfaites quentant son sdhitaires au pewple ; that is, laws are made only for the welfare of tie people, to wit, that the community not only suJBfer no loss, but flourish and prosper more and more. This lesson and good counsel the excellent and illustrious kings of France, Henry of Valois, the Third of that name, and Henry the Great of Bourbon, the Fourth of that name, of France and Navarre, have followed and observed in great dignity, according to the testimony of the cele- brated historian, Pierre Mathieu, who bears witness of this to the praise of their Majesties, and declares, moreover, that all the potentates and republics of Christendom should practise and follow this precept in order to advance and promote the interests of their 3 18 people in all business and trade by sea and land. Our own old and faithful forefathers, the Lords Eegents of aur beloved Fatherland, especially, have always had it at heart, and in every way encouraged it to that end, principally in navigation and voyages by sea, as being the means in and by which the welfare and prosperity of the whole country not a little consist. Now, my most Noble Lords, you Mighty Lords, having no less care therefore at this time than had the old Lords Regents, your predecessors : So is it that I, David Pietersz. de Vries, having from my youth up been trained in that business, and having under the regula- tion of the Noble, High, and Mighty Lords States- General, and the privileges granted by the same, and by the Council of Nineteen of the West India Company, been the first possessor and patroon of the South River at Swanendael, and at Staten Island in Mauritius, or the North River of New Netherland, and also the first patroon who went there for the purpose of culti- vating the same, and to trade and traffic there by special privilege of my Lords, have published my labours in navigation and around the world, as ship- master, as captain and supercargo in the East Indies, as vice-commander of seven ships, and as a patroon who has planted colonies in America, — the first, indeed, who had ever sailed out of Holland or Zealand, — and every thing which I had found by my own experience ; in order to make known to trading and seafaring per- sons what trade and profit (accidents excepted) are to be had there, and to point out to them the good 19 havens and roadsteads for securing their ships and goods, and to warn seamen of the rocks, shoals, and dangerous bars, in order that they may avoid them ; showing them also what course they must take at sea, and how they must govern themselves by the wind, sun, moon, and stars. These, my humble labours and writings, though not embellished with ornaments of words, — as is not to be expected of a person who has passed the most of his life upon the wild ocean waste, — ^but containing every thing which has appeared to me in my voyages worth relating, I offer this day to you. Noble Lords, and pray you to accept the same, trusting that, being made accessible to the trader and seamen by printing, they will be of service to them. May Almighty Grod prosper your administration to his praise and glory, and to the best interests of your- selves and of the people. Anno 1655. Noble Lords, Your dutiful Ordnance-master, David Pieteesz. de Veies. yOYAGE NEW NETHERLAND AiTEK I had been home from the Indies two months, I met, at Amsterdam, Samuel Godyn, a merchant, who bid me welcome, as an old acquaint- ance, and asked me where I came from ? I said from the East Indies. In what capacity? I told him as superca,rgo. He inquired whether it was my inten- tion to remain home. I said, yes. He said he wished me to go as a commander to New Netherland; he wanted to plant a colony there and to employ me as sub-patroon, as may be seen in the privileges granted by the Lords" States, and allowed by the Council of Nineteen of the "West India Company to all patroons. I gave him for answer that the business suited me well, but I must be a patroon, equal with the rest. He said that he was content that it should be Bo. So we five first began this patroonship ; namely, Samuel Godyn, Gilliame Van Rensselaer, Bloemaert, Jan de Laet, and myself, David Pietersz. de Vries. But more were afterwards admitted into the company ; namely, Mathys Van Ceulen, Nicolaes Van Sittorigh, Harinck 22 VOYAGES OF Koeck, and Heyndrick Hamel, who made a contract witli the others, whereby we were all placed on the same footing. We at the same time equipped a ship with a yacht for the purpose of prosecuting the voyage, as well to carry on the whale fishery in that region, as to plant a colony for the cultivation of all sorts of grain, for which the country is very well adapted, and of tobacco. This ship with the yacht sailed from the Texel the twelfth of December, with a number of people and a large stock of cattle, to settle our colony upon the South River, which Hqs in the thirty-eighth and a-half degree, "and to conduct the whale fishery there, as Godyn represented that there were many whales which kept before the bay, and the oil, at sixty guilders a hogshead, he thought would realize a good profit, and consequently that fine country be cultivated. The 20th of same month, we understood that our yacht was taken the day but one before as it was run- ning out the Texel, by the Dunkirkers, through the care- lessness of the large ship, which had sailed after the yacht, in which there was a large cargo, intended for the coast of New France. The large ship proceeded on the voyage, having on board some people to land at the island of Tortugas in the West Indies, which island we had made a contract with sixty Frenchmen to hold for us as a colony under their High Mightinesses the Lords States and the West India Company. Anno In September our ship returned from New Nether- ' land and the West Indies. They should have disem- barked a lot of people on Tortugas, but they found DAVID PIBTERSZ. DE VBIES. 23 that France had been killed by Spain. The ship conveyed the rest to the South River in New Nether- land, and brought a sample of oil from a dead whale found on the shore. The captain said that he arrived there too late in the year. This was a losing voyage to us ; because this captain, Pieter Heyes, of Edam, whom we had put in command, durst not sail by the way of the West Indies with only one ship of eighteen guns, where he must have made good the expense of this voyage. He was a person who was only accus- tomed to sail to Greenland, where he made the voyage in three or four months, and then came home. The twelfth of February we again entered into -Anno an agreement to equip a ship and yacht for the whale fishery, in which much profit had not been realized; because we had had such a losing voyage, and no returns from the whale fishery, and saw no prospect of any. But Samuel Godyn encouraged us to make another attempt. He said the, Greenland Company had two bad Voyages with WUlen Van Muyen, and afterwards .became a thrifty company. It was therefore again resolved to undertake a voyage for the whale fishery, and that I myself should go as patroon, and as commander of the ship and yacht, and should endeavour to be there in December in order to conduct the whale fishing during the winter, as the whales come in the winter and remain till March, Before sailing out the Texel, we understood that our little fort* had been destroyed by the Indians, the * On the South River. 24 VOYAGES OF people killed, — two and thirty men, — 'who were outside the fort working the land. The 24th May, sailed out of the .Texel with the ship and yacht, with a north-east wind. The 26th of the same month, at night, we ran aground through the carelessness of the pilots, to whom I gave particular directions, before I went to bed, to throw the lead frequently, and keep the Vierman^ which was a large ship, and drew full three feet more water than we did, upon our lee ; but they, not following their orders, we grounded upon the ■large shoal before Dunkirk. We fired a shot, so that our companion came to anchor. My yacht came under my lee ; but we could not bear the expense of its returning. Our crew took the boat, and in that, and two wood sloops, left the ship. But I was not willing, and kept both of the pilots by me, who dared not leave me for shame, seeing that I remained aboard with eight or nine raw hands, whom I then learned to be the best of the crew. Those men who had appeared fierce as lions, were the first to escape in the boat. All of us pushing and pulling we got into four-fathom water, where I let the anchor fall, and set to pumping. At the same time, the day broke, when' we saw the boat and two sloops tossing about; but when they saw the ship, they came on board again, and told us that had the night continued two hours longer, they would have rowed into Dun- kirk. We weighed anchor again and sailed for the coast of England, and, on the 28 th, ran into Portsmouth, and hauled the ship into the king's dock, where we repaired her. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 25 The loth of July, we sailed from Portsmouth to Cowes in the Isle of Wight. The 12th of the same month, the ship New Nether- land, of the West India Company, arrived here, — a large ship which was built in New Netherland, and which was bound to the West Indies, to which I had good company. The 1st of August, with a good north-east Avind, weighed anchor, and made sail with my ship and yacht, and the shij) New Netherland. The 2d, passed Land's End, and laid oi^r course for the Canary Islands. The 13th, we- saw Madeira on our larboard, and at the same time a Turk came towards us, but as soon as he observed that we were stout ships, he. hauled off from us, and we sailed for him. The evening growing dark, I fired a shot for my yacht to come by me. When night came on, we pursued our course, but the New Netherland followed the Turk by night, which seemed to us folly, because we had not got near him by day. We then separated from the New Netherland. The 14th, towards evening, we saw the Isle of Palms on our lee, and set our course from thence to Barbadoes. The 4th of September, we came in sight of Barba- does, and the next day, towards evening, arrived at the Island of St. Vincent. The Indians put out with their canoes arid came on board of us. 1 observed the great astonishment of this people. Their canoes or boats getting full of water, they sprang overboard, and with great dexterity lifted up both ends with their shoulders in the water, emptied out the water, and then clambered in again ; when many of our peo- 4 26 VOYAGES OF pie, in such circumstances, would have drowned, as the boat was full of water, and they had no other aid than their bodies and the sea. While here, we had fifteen good supplies of yams, pine-apples, and various other West India fruits. We anchored in the Great Channel in 23 fathoms. On the 5th, arrived here also the ship ISTew JSTether- land, which was separated from us at Madeira. On the 8th, we weighed anchor, and passed by the islands of Martinique, Dominica, Guadaloupe, Mont- serrat, Redonde, and Nevis, arrived the 20th* before St. Christopher, where we found some English ships, and obtained a supply of water. The 11th, weighed anchor, in order to sail to St. Martin. Half-way between St. Martin and St. Chris- topher, we met a French ship with a large sloop in company ; he screamed at us, as if he sought to com- mit some hostility towards us, but I kept my course, heeding him not. I let the prince's flag fly aloft, and the red flag behind. When he saw this, he turned about and ran a good distance on my lee. Towards evening, we arrived at the roadstead of St. Martin, and let our anchor fall. We found before the fort, three fly-boats under Dirck Femmesz. of Hoorn, two from Waterland, and the third an Englishman. The 11th of September, as I lay before the fort with my yacht, the above-named master of the fly-boats came on board, and inquired if I had not met a French ship. I said, " Yes, sir." And whether he had not attacked me ? I said, " No." Had we been a small * Evidently a misprint for the 10th. DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 27 ship, lie perhaps -would have done so : for he had sworn to pay off the first Hollander whom he should meet, because they had shot and killed two men out of his vessel, which was not creditable to them. He told me that this French ship had come into, the harbour some days ago, and that the captain was a Knight of Malta, and the vessel a royal yacht of the King of France; in search of Spaniards. When he was taken ashore by the commander of the fort, he inquired whether there was any one who could speak French. The captain of the soldiers understanding French, he requested that the captain might go with him to interpret what should be said. So the captain went from the fort with this Knight in his skiff to the fly-boats. Having reached them, the Knight desired that they should sell him a barrel of tar, and used good language. He had long sailed in the West Indies ; but they gave him a rude answer, — that they did not wish to have him in their ships — if the captain of the fort wished to come on board their ships he might, but he must depart with the boat. The Knight stood perplexed at such an answer, when he had met them with every courtesy. At length he said to the captain, his interpreter, that they would return to the fort, as he wished to make his complaints to the commander-in-chief. Coming to the commander, he exhibited his royal commission, and inquired of the commander, whether he had not as much right to go in the roadstead where these fly-boats were, as they ? — that they were friends ; — ^that all the ports and harbours in France were open to us. The commander said, " Yes." Then the Frenchman weighed anchor, and wished to come to anchor by them in 28 VOYAGES OF order to careen his ship a little, as the water was shal- low there. When they saw the Frenchman had ■weighed his anchor, they hauled one behind the other, and began to fire upon him, and shot two of his men ; when the Frenchraan again let his anchor fall, went to the fort and complained of the hostilities which these brutes had committed against him, and desired that the commander, with his officers, should take note thereof; and made his protest. But he was lost on his return voyage, with his ship, people and all, which has caused great comfort to these shipmasters, as he would otherwise have made sport enough for them ; but the quarrel was thereby terminated. This we learned afterwards. The 12th of September, I let the ship have room, but the capture of a whale brought me to anchor. In New Netherland and in Patria, this would have been a valuable prize. This day the ship New Netherland arrived here, which I had left lying at St. Vincent to refresh. With her, also, arrived«the ship Gelderia, together with a ship of the Company, and also two vessels from' Hoorn, Cornells Jansz. Niels, master. The master of the Company's ship, the Falcon, was Gerrit Jansz. "The 27th of this month, we had our cargo of salt, as much as we wanted, and made ourselves again ready to sail to Nevis, to take in wood and water, because they are both better there than at St. Christopher, and there is also a fine sandy bay for the boats to land. The captains of the vessels, who had corbmitted the hostilities against the Frenchman, inquired of me whether they might sail with me to Nevis, in order to DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 29 provide themselves with wood and water, so as to sail directly for Holland, as they were afraid of the French- man, who had called out to them that he wished to meet them when they went to take in water ; and they did not mount more than six or eight guns. I gave them for answer, that I was willing that they should sail with me, because they were our citizens, though I would not prevent any hostility of the Frenchman happening to them, and that my ship was to be de- fended as weU as theirs. If they wished, however, to sail with me, they could. The 29th, weighed anchor with my yacht to get under sail, but they remained. By evening, I arrived before the Island of Nevis. I went ashore to the governor, an Englishman, named Littleton. He re- quested me to take aboard some captive Portuguese, and to put them, on my way to St. Christophers, on board an English ship called Captain Stone's ; which I could not refuse him, if I had them only three or four hours in the ship. Martin Thysz. from Zealand, had put these Portuguese ashore here. The 1st of November, took my leave of the governor of Nevis^ and weighed anchor. At noon, came to the great roadstead where the English were. There was a governor, named Sir Warner. Here I immediately got rid of the Portuguese prisoners, gave thens^over to the Englishman, who wished to sail in company with me to St. Martin. The 2d, weighed anchor, with my yacht and the Englishman, of London, who had the Portuguese pris- oners, whom he was to carry to Porto Rico. He left his barge behind, to follow him with some goods to 30 VOYAGES OF St. Martin. We arrived in the evening at the an- chorage before St. Martin, where we found the whole fleet there still which we had left there. I asked the captains of the fly-boats why they had not followed me when I weighed anchor. They answered that they thanked me for the offer which I had made them, but they had determined to remain by each other, and expected that they would be ready together, and the Gelderland would go with them. The 4th, the Englishman expecting his boat from St. Christophers, knew not what it meant that it staid so long, as it should have followed us at noon. This Englishman wished much to sail with me to the lati- tude of Porto Rico, which I must pass. The 5th of this month, took my leave at the fort of our governor and the captains, and weighed anchor with my yacht also ; having a fair sail set, I could not wait longer for the Englishman's boat. We under- stood afterwards that this boat was placed in great distress ; that it was driven to the leeward by a strong wind, and being in want of provisions and water, the men cast lots whom they should first kill for the others to eat for food; having at length felled one, they fed themselves therewith, till they finally reached the island of Saba, where they subsisted on what they found there, and were afterwards recovered in great distress, but he who was killed was eaten up for their subsistence. • The 14th, in the thirty-second degree of latitude, the Bermudas to the east of us, encountered a severe storm from the north-west ; the water turned round as if it were an hurricane ; it blew so, that standing on DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 31 either side we could not understand eacli other. I feared when I saw the yacht, that it would be stranded, so dreadful was it to see so small a yacht, of ten lasts, save itself from such a storm. This storm continued until the 18th, but towards the last, the wind veered entirely west. The 1st of December, threw the lead, in* the thirty- ninth degree of latitude, in fifty-seven fathoms, sandy bottom ; found out afterwards that we were then fowr- teen or fifteen miles^ from the shore. This is a flat coast. Wind westerly. The 2d, threw the lead in fourteen fathoms, sandy bottom, and smelt the land, which gave a sweet per- fume,f as the wind came from the north-west,"which blew off land, and caused these sweet odours. This comes from the Indians setting fire, at this time of year, to the woods and thickets, in order to hunt ; and the land is full of sweet-smelling herbs, as sassafras, which has a sweet "smell. When tlie wind blows out of the north-west, and the smoke too is dliven to sea, it hap- pens that the land is smelt before it is seen. The land can be seen when in from thirteen to fourteen fathoms. Sand-hills are seen from the thirty-fourth to the for- tieth degree, and the hills rise up full of pine-trees, which would serve as masts for ships. The 3d of the same month, saw the mouth of the South bay, or South river, and anchored on sandy ground at fourteen fathoms ; because it blew hard from the north-west, which is from the shore, and as we * Forty-two or forty-five English miles. In this translation the miles are ac- cording to the Dutch standard'; one Dutch being equal to three English miles, f Kalm speaks of the same smeU at about the same place. 32 VOYAGES OF could not, in consequence of the hard wind, sail in the bay, we remained at anchor. The 5th, the wind south-west, we weighed anchor, and sailed into the South bay, and lay, with our yacht, in four-fathom water, and saw immediately a whale near the ship. Thought this would be royal work — the whales so numerous — and the land so fine for cul- tivation. The 6th, we went with the boat into the river, well manned, in order to see if we could speak with any Indians, but coming by our housie^ which was de- stroyed, found it well beset with palisades in place of breastworks, but it was almost burnt up. Found lying here and there the skulls and bones of our people, and the heads of the horses and cows which they -had brought with them, but perceiving no Indians, the business being undone, came on board the boat, and let the gunner fire a shot in order to see if we could find any trace of them the next day. The Yth, in the Inorning, we thought we saw some smoke near our destroyed house ; — we landed on the opposite side. On this side the river, before the beach, there is something of a sand-hill. Coming to the beach, looked over the river near the house where we had been the day before, and where we thought in the morning we had seen signs of smoke, but saw nothing. As I had a cousin of mine with me from Rot- terdam, named Heyndrick de Liefde, and as a large gull was flying over our heads, I told him to shoot at it once, as he had a fowling-piece with him, and he being a * The fort before spoken of. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 33 good shot on the wing, brought it down. With it came a shout from two or three Indians, who were lying in the weeds on the other side of the river by the destroyed house. We called to them to come over to us. They answered that we must come into the river with our boat. We promised to do so in the morning, as the water was then low, and that we would then talk with them, and we went back to the boat. Going aboard, we resolved to sail in the river with the yacht, as otherwise in an open boat we might be in danger of their annoyance. The 8th of December, we sailed into the river be- fore our destroyed fort, well on our guard. The In- dians came to the edge of the shore, near the ycicht, but dared not come in. At length, one ventured to come aboard the yacht, whom we presented with a cloth dress, and told him we desired to make peace. Then immediately more came running aboard, expect- ing to obtain a dress also, whom w^e presented with some toys, and told the one to whom we had given the cloth garment, that we had given it to him because he had most confidence -in us — -that he was the first one who came in the yacht, and should they come the next day with their chief called SaMmas^ we would then make a firm peace, which they call rrnicontyn mareuit. An Indian remained on board of the yacht at night, whom we asked why they had slain our peo- ple, and how it happened. He then showed us the place where our people had set up a column, to w^hich was fastened a piece of tin, whereon the arms of Hol- land were painted. One of their chiefs took this ofi^ for the purpose of making tobacco-pipes, not knowing 5 34 VOYAGES OF that he was doing amiss. Those in command at the house made such an ado about it, that the Indians, not knowing how it was, went away and slew the chief who had done it, and brought a token of the dead to the house to those in command, who told them that they wished they had not done it, that they should have brought hira to them, as they wished to have forbid- den him not to do the like again. They then went away, and the friends of the murdered chief incited their friends — as they are a people like the Italians, who are very revengeful — to set about the work of ven- geance. Observing our people out of the house, each one at his work, that there was not more than one in- side, who was lying sick, and a large mastiff, who was chained — had he been loose they would not have dared to approach the house — and the man who had com- mand, standing near the house, three of the stoutest Indians, who were to do the deed, bringing a lot of beaver-skins with them to exchange, sought to enter the house. The man in charge went in with them to make the barter ; which being done, he went to the loft where the stores lay, and in descending the stairs, one of the Indians seized an axe, and cleft his head so that he fell down dead. They also relieved the sick man of life ; and shot into the dog, who was chained fast, and whom they most feared, twenty-five arrows before they could despatch him. They then proceeded towards the rest of the men, who were at their work, and going among them with pretensions of friendship, struck them down. Thus was our young colony de- stroyed, causing us serious loss. The 9th, the Indians came to us with their chiefs, DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 35 and sitting in a ring, made peace. Gave them some presents of duffels, bullets, hatchets, and various Nu- remberg trinkets. They promised to make a present to us, as they had been out a-hunting. They then departed again with great joy of us, that we had not remembered what they had done to us, which we suf- fered to pass, because we saw no chance of revenging it, as they dwelt in no fixed place. We began to make preparations to send our sloop to sea, and to set up a kettle for whale-oil, and to erect a lodging-hut of boards. The 1st of January, I went in the morning, with the 1633. yacht, the Squirrel, about eight hours' sail up the South river, to see whether I could obtain any beans from the Indians, as our stock-fish was consumed, and the porridge, now doubled, began to grow short. To- wards evening we were stopped, as it was calm, and the ice, which the tide brought down, opposed us, and we cast anchor in eight fathoms, Saw a whale at the mouth of the South river. The 2d, in the morning, fine and pleasant, saw two lai'ge whales near the yacht. "Wished much that we could have had the sloop, with the harpooners, which was lying at Swanendael. We weighed anchor with the tide, and by evening came a good mile before Eeed Island, where we cast anchor, and saw fires on the land. Supposed that they were made by Indians out a-hunting ; but an hour afterwards a canoe came along- side. They said that they were a-hunting, but would not come aboard, from which we drew unfavourable conclusions; but they answered they would come aboard early in the morning. 36 VOYAGES OF The 4tli, after we had chopped some wood, as it be- gan to freeze, weighed anchor with the tide, made sail, and came within cannon-shot of Ked Plook, where we anchored before a kill, because it began to freeze ; so that in case the ice should stop us, we could haul in there to secure the yacht. The 5th, we weighed anchor in the morning, and sailed before the little fort named Fort Nassau, where formerly some families of the West India Company had dwelt. Some Indians had assembled there to bar- ter furs, but I desired to trade for their Turkish beans, because we had no goods to exchange for peltries, and our stores had been given away at Swanendael foi' the purpose of making the peace, so that there were not more than two pieces of cloth left of our goods, and two kettles, for which we wanted corn. We observed that the Indians were very scrupulous^' after that. They told us that we ought to haul into the Timmer- kill. There was an Indian of the Sankitans, who cau- tioned us not to go entirely into the kill, as she knew that they intended to make an attack upon us. When we told her that if she would relate to us everything in regard to the attack, we would give her a cloth garment, as we did. She confessed to us that they had killed some Englishmen, who had gone into Count Ernest's river in a sloop. The 6th, we weighed anchor, and came to again before the Timmer-kill, in order to see fully what the Indians would do. While lying there, a crowd of Indians came to trade, bringing beaver-skins with them, and be- * Shy. DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 37 ing forty-two or forty-tliree strong. A portion of them began to play tunes with reeds, in order tliat they might not cause in us any suspicion, but we kept our- selves strictly upon our guard, as there were only seven of us in the yacht, and there were forty-two or forty-three of the Indians. When we found the traffic at its height, we ordered them to go ashore imme- diately, or we would shoot them all. Their Sachem took an armful of beaver-skins which he wanted to present to us in order to tempt us, but we desired them not, and gave him for answer that they must make their way to the shore, as we knew that they had evil designs in their heads, that Manetoe (that is, the Devil, whom they call Manetoe) had told us so. -They went ashore again, and theii' villainy was frustrated, God be praised and thanked ! When a few are on their guard against this people, there is, with God's help, no diffi- culty with the Indians. Moreover, I may observe, that those in the Company's sloops, who give the Indians too much liberty, ge't into trouble thereby, which they might otherwise prevent with friendship. These Indians were from Ked Hook, otherwise called Mantes, and had a parcel of English jackets on, which gave me more cause of suspicion, as those were not clothing for them, or trading goods. Whilst they were on the land, there came three or four others, who desired that we would trade for their goods ; but we answered them that we did not want any beaver-skins, but wished corn for food. The Yth, the chief, whom they call Sachema, of the Armewaninge, came to us, who were then their neigh- bours. His name was Zeepentor, and to him we inter- 38 VOYAGES OF preted our adventure. He said he had heard that they had been on board of our boat strong. He requested us to return soon to the Timmer-kill with the yacht, whereat I was suspicious. I told my inter- preter to ask him why he was not willing to bring the corn here. He answered that where 'we were lying, it was too miry and muddy to get on board, and it was too cold to go round the mud. So we said to him that we would go. to the fort again, where it was hard and dry to come aboard, with which he was well content, and was again conveyed to the shore, saying that when we arrived at the fort, he would come aboard again. The 8th, weighed anchor early in the morning, and came to again before the fort, which we saw was full of Indians, and more and more constantl)^ coming. This gave us no favourable impression, because of the great numbers of the Indians. When they had all as- sembled in the fort, a canoe-^which is a boat hollowed out of a tree — came from the fort to board us, in which were nine Sachems from nine different places about there. I saw among them those who had intended to destroy us ; they had thrown off the English clothes, and put on those made of skins, which I immediately mentioned to my interpreter. The nine seated them- selves in a circle and called us to them, saying they saw that we were afraid of them, but that they came to make a lasting peace with us, whereupon they made us a present of ten beaver-skins, which one of them gave us, with a ceremony with each skin, saying in whose name he presented it ; that it was for a per- petual peace with us, and that we must banish all evil DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VBIES. ■ 39 thoughts from us, for they had now thrown away all evil. I wanted to make presents to them through the interpreter, to each one an axe, adze, and pair of knives, but they refused them, declaring that they had not made us presents in order to receive others in re- turn, but for the purpose of a firm peace, which we took for truth. The 8th of January, we wished to give them some- thing for their wives, but they said we must give it to them on shore. As it was late, they went ashore again, and said they would come the next 'day with corn, and send aboard that evening seven or eight youth, which showed a good peace with them. The 9th, they came aboard again in the morning, and brought Indian corn of different colours, for which we exchanged duffels, kettles, and axes. We also obtained some beaver-skins, all in good feeling. There came this day fifty of them into the yacht, but we kept our- selves constantly on our guard. The loth, in the morning, traded for some beaver and corn ; and at noon drifted off with the ebb tide, and by noon came 'to anchor on the bar at Jaques Island, where we remained one tide. The 11th, weighed anchor in the morning, and by evening arrived about a half-a-mile above Minqua's kill, where we anchored, and saw a whale there that evening six or seven times. We were surprised to see a whale seven or eight miles up into fresh water. The 12th, weighed anchor again, and arrived at the mouth of the river, where the thicket is. • The 13th, weighed anchor with the ebb, and at noon i came to the ship at Swanendael, where our friends 40 VOYAGES OF were rejoiced to see us. We found tliat they had shot two whales, but they furnished little oil. The 18th, the goods were placed in our yacht, and we sailed again up the South river. By evening arrived between Minqua's kill and Keed Island, where we came to anchor. It began to freeze. "We anchored here because the tide was running down. The 19th, weighed anchor with the tide, and came within a mile of Jaques Island. As it began to_ freeze, and it was difScult to go on, it became necessary to haul into a kill which was near us. Found it a fine creek, where the water was two fathoms deep at high tide ; but the current was strong, and not above thirty feet wide. The ice began to trouble us some by the rubbing of the current. We quickly cut a parcel of trees, and fastehed them in the ground, before and be- hind, in order to lie clear of the ice. This is a fine country, in which many vines grow wild, so that we gave it the name of Wyngsert's kill. Went out daily, while here, to shoot. Shot many wild turkeys, weigh- ing from thirty to thirty-six pounds. Their great size and very fine flavour are surprising. We were frozen up in this kill from the 19th to the 3d of February. During this time, perceived no Indians, though we saw here and there, at times, great fires on the land, but we saw neither men nor canoes, because the river was closed by the ice. The 3d of February, we hauled out of the kill, as the river was open again, and sailed to Fort Nassau, where we had left the Indians before, but found no one there now, and saw no Indians. It began to freeze again, and we hauled into a kill over against the DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 41 fort, as we were apprehensive, if we stould be frozen in there, we might be in danger. When we had lain in this kill, eight days befoi-e the ice broke, there came a canoe, in which sat an old Indian with a squaw, who brought with them some maize and beans, of which we bought a parcel. We could not understand from the Indian how it was that we saw no Indians. It seemed as if he were unwilliug to tell us ; he appeared astonished that he had escaped, ran frequently ashore, looked to and fro, so that we could perceive there must be something. We hauled the next day out of the kill, and were carried between the cakes of ice and the shore, which we could not prevent with our yacht. The 11th, full fifty Indians came over the river from the fort upon the ice, with canoes, directly to our yacht, so that they could step in it from the shore, and spoke to us. They were Minquas, who dwell among the English of Virginia. They came on a war- like expedition^ and were six hundred strong. They were friendly to us, but it would not do to trust them too far. I determined, as the flood-tide began to make, that we must haul into the mouth of the kill, so that they could not come .upon us on foot and master us. Hauling out of the kill about five-and-twenty paces, we could not get any further, because there was not water enough. I told the master of the yacht, that he Kulst direct the crew to throw some ballast over- board, but he could not induce them to do it. I then went to them, and asked them whether they would rather trust to the mercy of these barbarians, or throw away the ballast. They answered that while we were 6 42 VOYAGES OV in the river, our lives were at the mercy of the ice. I replied that God, who had so long aided us, would help us. Finally, I said that I had three flasks of brandy in my locker, and would give them one of them, if they would throw the ballast overboard, and we would all help to do it. The yacht was now driven by the current and with the ice and the ebb tide, which was most spent. We were a thousand paces below the kill, between two high pieces of ice, which had fallen on the shore ; this happened at night-fall. They all raised a great shout, when they saw that we were driven nearer to the river. In the morning, at daybreak, they saw that we were lying between the two pieces of ice, with the bowsprit over the shore, and came running to the yacht. We stood, eight of us, on our arms. The 12th, we kept them off, as they sought to come into the yacht by the bowsprit, while we were lying, bow on land, between the two pieces of ice. At length the water rose, so that the yacht and the ice floated, and we were to be driven at God's mercy with the ice, which was our great enemy, while the land was our enemy on account of the Indians. We were finally driven up the river, where there was a dry sand-bar, ruhning most to the middle of the river. We were afraid we would be driven upon it by the ice, when God provided two canoes to float by us, which we im- mediately held before the bow, one on each side, 'and broke the ice with them. Then, setting the foresail, as there was a good wind, in order to sail up the river with the tide, we passed, by the aid of God, the Vogel- sant, which was our great peril at this place, and DAVID PIETEKSZ. DE VBIES. 43 arrived at the beautiful island when the tide began to turn, and we managed to get to the shore, with the side to the shore lengthwise with the bow. At length, the water began to fall rapidly, and we found that the bank was bold. We immediately set about making the mast fast to a good stout tree on land, by means of a rope, and to intrench ourselves behind stakes. The next day, the 13th, three Indians of the Armewamen came, who were at .the yacht before. They, told us that they were fugitives — that the Min- quas had killed some of their people, and they had escaped. They had been plundered of all their corn, their houses had been burnt, and they had escaped in great want, compelled to be content with what they could find in the woods, and came to spy out in what way the Minquas. had. gone away — the main body of their people lying about five or six hours' Journey distant, with- their wives and children. They told us, also, that the Minquas had killed . ninety men of the Sankiekens; that they would come to us the next day, when the sun was in the south-east, as they were suffering great hunger, and that the Minquas had all left and gone from us, back to their country. The 14:th, at night, it began to -rain hard, and the wind was from the south-west, which made it warm. In the morning we had high water, which caused the yacht to float finely. We loosened the rope from the tree, to which it had been made fast, in order to get from the yacht, because the shore was so bold there, and let her drift into the river. As the ice was already very soft, like snow, we resolved not to wait for 44 VOYAGES OF the Indians, as they had been driven away, and could not assist us in those things- for which we had come, so that it was a hopeless voyage for us. Going down the river, we arrived below the Minqua's kill, where we took in some stone for ballast, which we could not ob- tain elsewhere in the morning. This is a very fine river, and the land all beautifully level, fall of groves of oak, hickory, ash, and chestnut trees, and also vines which grow upon the trees. The river has a great plenty of fish, .the same as those in our fatherland, perch, roach, pike, sturgeon, and similar fish. Along the sea-coast are codfish, the different kinds of fish which are in our fatherland, and others. After we had taken in some ballast, we went further'down the river, and came to its mouth. We fished once with our seines, and caught, in one draught as many as thirty men could eat of perch, roach, and pike. The 20th, we weighed our anchor, and with a north- west wind sailed out of the bay, which is ten miles long, and so wide, that in the. middle of it you can hardly see from one shore to the other. It is full of shoals -on both sides, being from six to seven fathoms deep, but is deepest on the west side. In order to run up by soundings,. as you come from sea to Cape Hin- loopen, which lies in thirty-eight degrees and twenty minutes, the shoal of the bank, which stretches from Cape Hinloopen over the bay, reaches Cape May, and when you have passed this a mile and a half, and come into the river, so that Cape Hinloopen is south of you, run in then north-west along the west shore, and you will be out of danger of the banks, and keep the west side, where you should keep sounding. If it be less DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VKIES. 45 than two fatlioms, and if the ship be a large one, you must go direct to the South river. When you come to the mouth of the river, where it is full two miles wide, there is a shoal before it, on which, at low tide, there is not more than six or seven feet of water. You must then put the helm a-starboard, and you will see a rough point ahead on the west side, along which you must hold your course ; and there it is deep enough, the water being three and a half fathoms at low tide, but inside, in the river, . it is six . or seven fathoms. The tide rises and falls here frpni five to six feet. By evening, we arrive,d again at the ship, in which there was great rejoicing to see us, as we had been gone over a month. They did not imagine that we had been frozen up in the river, as no pilot or astrologer could conceive, that in the latitude from the thirty-eighth and a half to the fhirty-ninth, such rapid running rivers could freeze. Some maintain that it is because it lies so far west ; others adduce other reasons ; but I will tell how it can be, from experience and what I have seen, and that is thus : inland, stretching towards the north, there are high mountains, covered with snow, and the north and north-west winds blow over the land from these cold mountains, with a pure, clear air, which causes extreme cold and frost, such as is felt in Provence and Italy, which I have often experienced when I was at Geneva, when the wind blew ovei* the land from the high mountains, making it as cold as it was in -Holland. I have found, by experience, in all countries, during .winter, that when the wind blows from the land, the hardest frost makes. It is so in New Netherland also, for as soon as the wind is south-west, it is so 46 VOYAGES OF warm that they may go almost naked in the woods, with only a shirt on them. The 5th of March, determined to make a voyage to the English in Virginia, as we had failed to obtain corn in the South river, in consequence of the war among the Indians, as before related, by which we were placed in such danger, and the grain of the Indians was destroyed ; and as we thought that we would not be able to find a suflBcient store of it at Fort Amsterdam, on the East river, to serve us on our return voyage to Holland, we therefore deemed it advisable to sail to the English in Virginia. Although there had never been any one there from this quarter, I said, as I had escaped the danger in the South river, I would_ be the first one of our nation to venture to the English in Virginia, from these parts, as the distance is not more than thirty miles from the South river or Cape "Hin- loopen. The 6th, we weighed anchor, and laid our course along the shore, south-southwest. In the evening it became calm, and we anchored in six fathoms, sandy bottom, the wind north-west off the shore. The 7th, in the morning, at daylight, we weighed anchor, and sailed along the weather-shore. Found that the coast ran from Cape Hinloopen, about eight miles south-southwest, and north-northeast, then changed again two points south-west and north-east. We coasted along in six fathoms, till we found it be- gan to be shoally, and I saw that the water began to change. I told the captain of the yacht he should, throw the lead once, in order to see how deep it was. He said that he had just sounded in six fathoms. I re- DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 47 t plied that I could not believe it was so deep, for the water changed too much, when he, with a frown, threw out the lead, and there was a fathom and a half of water. I was startled, though we had gone with the yacht where it was only six feet deep. We were now about a mile and a half from the shore, and imme- •diately turned to it, as I saw that it changed less there than towards the sea. Immediately found again two, three, and four fathoms of water ; ran then from the bank to the sea, and obtained seven and eight fathoms, and saw a high point before us, which I guessed to. be about seven or eight miles from Smith's Island or Cape Charles, but from this point across the sea, almost to Cape Charles, it is full of shoals, so thart it will not do for a large ship to come nearer than nine fathoms, on account of the bank, which lies three or four miles in the sea, and runs along the whole coast to the North river, and on which sometimes there will not be more than five fathoms, or four fathoms and a half of water. Inside of this again, towards the land, you will get ten, eleven,. and nine fathoms, for this is a flat coast, and the land is seen first in thirteen or fourteen fathoms. As it was dark at evening, we came to anchor in nine-fathom water, in order that we might not- pass by the Bay of Virginia in the night. After we had been laying there about an hour, a storm be- gan to blow from the south-east straight on shore — a lee-shore for us. We put the stout boat's nose to the wind, and took down the topmast at the same time, and she lay there and rode as if she had been a fish. • The 8th, when we looked out in the morning, we found that it had been snowing all night, for the snow 48 VOYAGES OF • was more than a couple of feet thick. The captain came and inquired whether we should weigh anchor. I answered, he must use seamanship ; as he saw that it still blew hard, with a heavy sea, and no sight of land, it was best to remain, as we were well secured, and wait for good, clear weather. At noon, it began to clear, the wind coming from the south-west with a- clear, pure air ; and we saw that we were lying right before the bay. Smith's Island north of us. Sailed over to Cape Henry in order to. run in by it. Found that from this Cape the land trended north and south. Ran into the north of it with a light breeze. Found at Cape Henry, a fine- wide and broad bay. We ran in until we had three fathoms water. Ran out again; and laid our course to the north, and at evening came to a bank, where, in consequence of the darkness, we an- chored in fifteen-feet water. This shoal reaches to Elizabeth river. The 9th, sounded the depth, and found only nine feet water, so that it had fallen six where we were lying. The wind blew from the east, so that we were on a lee-shore, and were ignorant, as none of us had ever been here. We weighed anchor and sailed from the shore. The bank stretches from the west side more than two parts over to the east shore. It is deep along the east shore. There was a fort newly- made at that time. The land is called by the English, Point Comfort. We ran in here — it being ten, eight, and seven fathoms deep — and saw before us a point stretching out about three miles, which the .English call Newport Smmjo. As you come to the east side • from the sea, you must see that you bring this point of DAVID- PIETERSZ. DE VBIES. 49 Newport-Snuw witbin the point where the fort is situated, otherwise you will be in danger of being shipwrecked, but keep the before-named hook, which you can see afar off, a good piece outside. As you pass by the fort to Newport-Snuw, you will see on the side of the fort a large bay. Let your anchor fall, so that you may not be driven within six fathoms. This bay is the Bay of Kiclietan^ and has a river running into it, which you may enter with a ship of fifty lasts. On the west side, opposite, is Elizabeth's river, into which you can sail five or six miles with a large ship. After we had lain a day in this Bay of Kicketan, a pilot was sent on board to pilot us to Jamestown, where the governor holds his court on behalf of the ' King of England,- and where we took an English merchant with us. The 10th, we sailed up the river. When we came to the before-mentioned point of Newport-Snuw, we landed and took in water. A fine spring lies inside the shore of the river, convenient for taking water from. All the ships come here to take in water on their way home. After we had procured some water, we sailed on, and came at evening to a kill, in which a large ship might lay, called Blank Point. We went ashore there, where one of the most distinguished citi- zens lived, named Captain Matthews. We were com- pelled to stay all-night, and were well treated. The 11th, took our leave of this Captain, and went aboard of the yacht again, and proceeded on. Here, the river is full three miles wide, but shoally, so that it is only by sounding the passage that you can get along. It is only a pilot's channel. At noon", we came to 7 50 VOYAGES OF Littleton, where we landed, and where there resided a ^reat merchant, named Mr. Menifit, who kept us to dinner, and treated us very well. The river is half as wide as before. Here was a garden of one morgen,* full of Provence roses, apple, pear, and cherry trees, the various fruits of Holland, with different kinds of sweet-smelling herbs, such as rosemary, sage, mar- joram, and thyme. Around the hbuse were plenty of peach-trees, which were hardly in blossom. I was as- tonished to see this kind of tree, which I had never seen before on this coast. An express order came to us here, from the governor, who desired to see us, when we took our leave of the merchant, went aboard, and having weighed anchor, in two hours . came to anchor before Jamestown, where the governor holds his court. The 11th, went ashore, where the governor stood upon the beach, with some halberdeers and musket- eers, t6 welcome us. On my setting foot upon the land, he came up to me, and bid me heartily welcome. He inquired of me where I came from. I answered him, from the South Bay of New Netherland. He asked how far it was from their bay. I said thirty miles. He then proceeded with me to his house, where he bid me welcome with a Venice glass of sack, and then brought out his chart, and showed me that the South Bay was called by them, My Lord Dela- ware's Bay, who had encountered foul weather there some years ago, and, finding the place full of shoals, thought it was not navigable. They had, therefore, * Two acres. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 51 never looked after it since, but it was their King's land, and not New Netherland. I answered him that there was a fine river there, that for ten years no Eng- lishman had been there, and that we for many years had had a fort there, called Fort Nassau. It was strange to him, that he should have such neighbours, and have never heard of them. He had, indeed, heard that we had a fort in the fortieth degree of lati- tude, at Hudson's river as they called it, and that a sloop was sent there last September, with seven o.r eight men, to see whether there was a river there, who had not returned, and whether they perished at sea or not, he did not know. I told him that we had seen Indians in the South river, who had English jackets on, and had also understood from an Indian, who gave us warning, that the Indians had run down an English sloop there, in which were seven or eight Englishmen. He then remarked they must have been his people ; otherwise, they who had been sent to discover the South river, would have returned home long ago. Finally, he said there was land enough, — we should be good neighbours with each other, and that, we were in no danger from them, if the people of New England did not come too near us, and dwelt at a distance from us. I remained to sup with the governor, and he insisted on my staying the night at his house. The 12th, arrived here Captain Stone, whom I had left at St. Martin, in the West Indies. He told me that he had waited fourteen days for his boat, which suffered such distress, as I have mentioned before, that they had cast lots whom they should kill for food. ■He also said that the Portuguese prisoners, whom I 52 VOYAGES OF had brought from Nevis, and had delivered to. him at St. Christopher's, as before related, he had brought to Porto Eico, and that he was very well treated by the Spanish governor. He had hastened his voyage here to Virginia, and was very glad to meet me. He was very well received by the governor. He was from London, from the Great House. I remained at din- ner with the governor, and as we sat at the meal, Captain Stone asked why the governor had an inter- preter for me, as I could speak English; at least, I had spoken English to them in the West Indies. The governor said he did not know that, and inquired whether I could also speak French. I said, " Yes." Whether I understood Italian. I answered in the affirmative. Whether I had been in Italy, and in Africa, and in the East Indies. I said I had. He was astonished that I had begun so early to command. Finally, there sat at the table an Englishman, who had been in the East ' Indies at the same time that I was there, and who asked me who commanded the English in the East Indies when I was there. I gave him the name ; and when I could see him, I looked at him well, and he at me. Then this commander said that mountains could not, but men who go and see the world can, meet each other. Besides, the commander had assisted me with provisions while I was there. This commander was named Sir John Harvey. The 18th, took leave of the governor, who sent half-a-dozen goats on board, to take with us, which he made a present to our governor, with a ram. He had understood that there were no goats at Fort Amster- dam, in New Netherland. We set sail at once, and DAVID PIETERSZ. DS VRIES. 53 arrived at evening at Blank Point, at the Councillor's, to whose place we had before sailed in ascending the river. Here we bought some swine, which we killed and salted. The 20th, we took our leave of this Councillor, whose name was Captain Matthews, and proceeded to Kicketan,- Skxxdi. anchored at evening before the point of Newport-Siiuw, where we took in water. Here lived a gentleman of the name of Goegen. I was astonished to observe of the English people, that they lose their servants in gambling with each other. I told them that I had never seen such work in Turk or Barbarian, and that it was not becoming Christians. The 21st, we arrived again before Kicketan. There, also, we bought some provisions, while we were wait- ing for a good. wind. These English Virginias are a fine country ; altogether a beautiful flat land, full of all kinds of fine large trees — oak, hickory, chestnut, ash, cypress, and cedar, and other kinds. There come here yearly, between thirty and forty ships of various sizes, from two hundred lasts and upwards, mounting twenty-eight, twenty-four, and nineteen guns, which «ome here to load tobacco, and carry it to England. The entrance of this bay is five miles wide, from Cape Henry to Cape Charles. " Many fine rivers run out, like those on the east side. It turns to the north, and a large ship can sail up it full eighty miles. Thirty miles up the river, -lies a large island, two miles long, which the English call the Isle of Kent, upon which many of them reside, under one Captain Klaver's* * Clayborne. 54 VOYAGES OF government, who carries on there a great trade in peltries. Here is another river. The first after the East river, running to the west, iS called York river, which is navigable with a large ship full twenty miles. Then comes the Pette-womeque (Potomac) river, navigable thirty miles with a large ship. The river where Jamestown— in Dutch, called Jacob 8tadt — is situated, runs mostly west, and is navigable about forty miles, with a large ship, to an island called Henrico. This island is inhabited on every side by the English, and there run into it all around, small kills, from five miles long and less, into which a good-sized ship may enter. There are great num- bers of fish of all kinds, the same as in the rivers of Holland; also, birds of various kinds : swans, geese, ducks, wild geese, partridges, and wild turkeys, the same as in New Netherlands There is an objec- tion which the English make. They say that during the months of June, July, and August, it is very un- healthy ; that their people, who have then lately arrived from England, die during these months, like cats and dogs, whence they call it the (sickly) season. When they have this sickness, they want to sleep all the time, but they must be prevented from sleeping by force,, as they die if they get asleep. This sickness, they think, arises from the extreme heat that exists there. Then, again, when it has been a half-an-hour very hot, if the wind shifts and blow from the north- west, it immediately becomes so cold, that an over- coat may be worn. Thus, this country appears to lie in the dividing line between the heat and the cold, while New Netherland is beautifully, tempered. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 55 The 28th, weighed anchor, and set sail with a good south-west wind, along the coast north-easterly. The 29th, we arrived again in the South Bay at Swanendael, at our ship, where we were very welcome. Found that our people had caught seven whales, but there were only thirty-two cartels of oil obtained, so that the whale-fishery, is very expensive, when such meagre fish are caught. We could have done more if we had had good harpooners, for they had struck seventeen fish, and only secured seven, which was as- tonishing. They had always struck the whales in the tail. I afterwards understood from some Basques, who were old whale-fishers, that they always struck the harpoon in the fore-part of the back. This voyage was an expensive one to us, but not so much, since I had laden a good cargo of salt in the West Indies, which brought a good price. Having put -our oil in the ship, taken down our kettle, and hauled in wood and water, we got ready to sail. This bay is, generally, fine flat land, full of the various kinds of pine-trees, which I have described. In winter time, from Virginia to Swanendael, there are hundreds of thousands of geese, both gray and white. The country is "also full of wild turkeys, and has a great many deer. The 14th of April, as we were now entirely clear of everything, so as to set sail, we weighed anchor both with the ship and yacht. Whilst we were lying here, there came in during this month of April, hundreds of thousands of wild pigeons, flying from the land over the bay. Indeed, the light could hardly be discerned where they were. Sometimes they flew upon the ship, pressed down by numbers as they came over the bay. .56 VOYAGES OF Having got under sail, I went again on board the yacht, and the pilots took command of the large ship, for I wished to explore the coast distinctly. Sailed over to Cape May, where the coast began to trend east-northeast, and west-southwest. Came, at evening, to the mouth of Egg harbour. Found between Cape May and Egg harbour, a slight sand-beach, full of small, low sand-hills. Egg harbour is a little river or kill, and inside the land is broken, and within the bay are several small island?. Somewhat further up in the same dii-ection, on a slight headland, is a beautiful high wood. In the evening it became very still. The 15th, in the morning, it was so foggy that we could not see the large ship. We heard the ground swell and surf; threw the lead, and found it eight fathoms deep. Let the anchor fall. It was shelly ground. Fished with a drop-line, and caught in a couple of hours, eighty-four codfish, which are a very good-flavoured sweet fish, better than those in ISTew- foundland. It began to blow from the south-west, and to be bright and clear again. So we weighed anchor and made sail. Found ourselves before Barende-gat, where the coast began to stretch to the north-east by north, and south-west by south. At evening we saw the high mountains, which make a high point running along the sea, for the most part easttsoutheast, and west-southwest, This was the first mountainous land which I met since I came from the south. We sailed that evening to the Sandy Hook, which forms a large bay close by the point, and is also called Godyn's Point, where we anchored that evening in seven-fathom water. • DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VBIES. 57 The 16th, weighed anchor, and ran over to Staten Island, all along the shore of which runs a great sand- bank, entirely flat. It is necessary to sound the south- east side, and it will not do to come nearer than from three to four and a half fathoms with a large ship. Arrived at noon before Fort Amsterdam, and found a Company's ship there, called the Soutbergh, with a prize taken on the way, laden with sugar. She had brought a new governor, "Wouter Van Twiller of Newkirk. He had been a clerk in the West India Department at Amsterdam. They had left Holland after us. I went ashore to the fort, out of which he came to welcome me, and inquired of me also, how the whale-fishery succeeded. I answered him that I had a sample ; but that they were foolish who undertook thei whale-fishery here at such great expense, when th9y could have readily ascertained with one, 'two, or three sloops iu New Netherland, whether it was good fish- ing or not. Godyn had been, a manager of the Com- pany as long as the Company had been in existence, and also of the Greenland Company at Amsterdam, and ought to have known how that at first might have been undertaken with little expense. While we stood thus discoursing, our sloop came from the large ship to the shore, from which we learned that they had come to anchor at Sandy Hook, and would remain there until I gave other orders. In the mean time, I intended to despatch my yacht to New England and New France, to explore the bay. The ISthi, arrived here an Englishman, who came from New England to trade in the river, where there was a merchant named Jacob Eelkes, who had, during 58 VOYAGES OF • the time of the private association,* navigated and. commanded on the river, but whom the Company- would not employ, seeking out an unfit person like this governor, whom they had transferred from a clerkship to a governorship, to perform a comedy. This Enghshman invited the governor to come and see him. I went with him, in company with a num- ber of the oflS.cers, who became intoxicated, and got into such high words, that the Englishman could not understand how it was that there should be such un- ruliness among the officers of the Company, and that a governor should have no more control over them ; he was not accustomed to it among his countrymen. The Englishman remained six or seven days lying be- fore the fort, and then said he wished to go up the rif^er, and that the land was theirs. That we denied, declaring that they had never made any settlement there. He said that Dawid H^idson first discovered this river, and he was an Englishman. We answered that he discovered the river in the year nine, but he was fitted out at the expense of the East India Com- pany at Amsterdam ; and that the river was now called Mauritius river, after our Prince of Orange. The 24th, the Englishman weighed anchor and sailed up the river to Fort Orange, where this Jacob Eelkes had formerly resided as commander for the private Company ; when governor Wouter Van Twil- ler assembled all his forces before his door, had a cask of wine brought out, filled a bumper, and cried out * This refers to the company authorized by the octroy of the States General of 11th October, 1614. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 59 for those who loved the Prince of Orange and him, to do the same as he did, and protect him from the out- rage of the Englishman, who was already out of sight sailing up the river. The people all began to laugh at him ; for they understood well how to drink dry the cask of wine, as it was just the thing they wanted, even if there had been six casks, and did not wish to trouble the Englishman, saying they were fi'iends. As I sat at the table with him at noon, I told him that he had .committed great folly, as the Englishman had no commission to navigate there, but a paper of the custom-house that he had paid so much duty, and might sail with so many passengers to New England, and not to New Netherland. I said, if it were my matter, I would have helped him away from the fort with heans from the eight-pounders, and not permitted him to sail up the river, — would rather have held him back by the tail, as he said he was a man from Eng- land. I told him as the English committed some excesses against us in the East Indies, we should take hold of them; that I had no good opinion of that nation, for they were so. proud a nature, that they thought everything belonged to them ; were it an affair of mine, I would send the ship Soutberg after him, and make him haul down the river, and drive him from it until he brought another commission than a custom-house license ; that he was only making sport of him. The 20th May, I wished to send my yacht to the north by the way of Hell-gate. ' I also began to make preparations to return with the large ship to Holland, when this governor commenced his pranks of the head. 60 VOYAGES OF and began again to juggle as if he were drunk. He did not want the yacht to go to the north, and sent alongside of it a schapan, — a flat lighter-boat, in which the whole yacht could easily have been contained, — and wanted to take out five or six lasts of store-ballast, when I protested to him, explaining the privileges ' granted by the College of Nineteen, and approved by the States General, and that I did not wish him to unload the yacht. He then desired to search the yacht, the same as was customary by all princes and potentates, in order that he might see whether there was anything in it that concerned the Company. He then" ordered the guns at the angles of the fort to shoot at the yacht, when I ran to where he stood at the angle with the Secretary and one or two of his Council, and told them the land was full of fools ; if they wished to shoot anything, they should have shot at the Englishman, who was violating their river in spite of them. Upon this expostulation they desisted from shooting, and set about preparing a yacht to sail along with our yacht. So they both sailed to the north after I had despatched my yacht. When we had made everything ready, and were about to take our leave of the governor, he then came to annoy me anew. He did not want me to go with my boat to embark, until his boat had first boarded our ship, in order to search her, . I opposed it, and told him that she was not to be searched. I was bound home, and if he wished to write any letters, he could do so, and send them after I had gone to my boat. He immediately sent twelve musketeers after me, in order that we should not depart. My boat's crew DAVID PIETERSZ. DK VKIES. 61 asked- whether they should row away in the boat. I said I would let them do so, and had they my courage they would. They immediately did so, and the musketeers were ridiculed with shouts and jeers by all the bystanders, who cried out that they should have stopped the Englishman with shot and muskets, from sailing past the fort, and not our own patrons of the country, who sought to promote its interests. In a little while I reached Long Island, where, behind Nut Island,* I had commanded my boat to row. Before I crossed over, I went once more to the fort, to take my leave of the governor. I told him I wished that he should have omitted the folly of attempting to prevent my departure by his soldiers, as he had only made himself a subject of sport among^ Jhis people ; — if he desired to write any letters to his masters, the man- agers, he might send them after me in the bay. I went out and crossed over the bay to my boat at Long Island. Night coming on, and the flood-tide making, I thought it most prudent to let my people row over to Pavonia, and there wait the ebb. Reaching Pavo- nia, we were well entertained by Michael Poulusz; the officer in charge, who prepared letters to send to his master, whilst we waited for the tide. Our people overslept a little their time, as I had ordered them to be on hand as soon as the ebb began to run. We passed the fort early in the morning by break of day, before the reveille was beaten in the fort. We arrived at noon again at our ship at Sandy Hook. Saw our ship's boat lying on the point, where * Ifow Governor's Island 62 VOYAGES OF our people were catchiiig fish with a seine, and went there to tell them to come aboard as soon as they had made a haul or two. The sail-boat from the fort was also alongside, having sailed before us in order to bring their letters to us. They tacked away, and were crossing to see what we were doing on the point with our boat. I went towards them immediately, and, coming by them, they inquired of me what I did with my boat when I passed by the ship. I answered that it did not concern them, so they returned again along- side. In this boat- were the Schout, Notelman, and the Secretary, Remunt. Cording aboard, I bid them welcome to the ship ; and I had my goods taken from my boat into the ship, among which were a dozen beaver-skins. These, the Secretary said, were confis- cated, because they had not been entered at the fort. I told him to take them then ; but the Schout said I might let them lie, we were not now at the fort, and let him try our wine, as he was a good bibber, as all of them were, I answered that water was good enough for them, as they might otherwise fall over- board. At length, the Schout asked why we were quarrelling here ; he was very thirsty, and would go to the cabin ; if there was anything wrong, the Patroon might answer for it in Holland. Because the Schout spoke so well, I told him he might enter the cabin, and I would let him fill a glass from the best cask; if the other one wished to play. the fool, he might leave ; I was now. in my own ship, not un- der their jurisdiction. The Secretary then said they could send the ship Soutberg after us to board us. I told him they might do so,, for the Soutberg had sugar DAYID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 63 in her, and our crew would be right glad to eat sugar in their groats, as we would have a chance to do. I said to the. Secretary, that we were surprised that the West India Company would send such fools into this country, who knew nothing, except to drink; that they could not come to be assistants in the East Indies ; and that the Company, by such management, must come to naught. In the East Indies, no one was ap- pointed governor, unless he had first had long service, and was found to be fit for it ; first, by serving as an assistant, under-koopman, then as koopman, and after- wards as chief-koopman, and promoted further, ac- cording to their merits ; but the West India Company sent, in the first instance, as superior officers, persons who never had any command in their lives, for which reason it must come to najight. Upon this, they again returned, with their boat, to the fort, which is five miles from Sandy Hook, The bay inside of Sandy Hook is a large one, where fifty to sixty ships can lie, well protected' from the winds of the sea. Sandy Hook stretches a full half-mile from the hills, forming a flat sandy beach, about eight or nine paces wide, and is covered with small blue-plum trees, which there grow wild. The 15th June, we weighed anchor, and made sail for patria. While we were getting under sail, an Englishman came sailing towards us, who would have run straight upon the bar, and lost his ship. When I perceived him, I fired a shot to warn him, and sent my boat to him, and he immediately sailed towards me, and perceived that he was not in the right chan- nel. Coming by us, he proved to be an acquaintance, — 64 VOYAGES OF Captain Stone, of whom I have before spoken, — whose boat had suffered such distress in the West Indies, and whom I had also met in English Virginia.* His ship was laden with corn and young cattle, bound to New England. As he Was in tvant of water, he wished to put in here to take in some. He sought of me, for the sake of our acquaintance, whether I would furnish him a man to pilot him in. I asked our crew whether there was any one of them who wished to make a longer Voyage, and who would be transferred to this Englishman ; when one offered to make a long voyage, whom I gave over to him, and I laid my course south- easteriy to sea, as Long Island lies east and west. The coast here falls off seventeen degrees, or more than a point and a half The l7th, changed ouy course to east by south, at the fortieth degree of latitude, and then ran east, so as to pass ill sight of CoWes. The 29th, at -break of day, we saw a strange sail, which came upon us before the wind, and hailed him to keep behind. He called tb me to send off my boat. I replied I would not.. He then put off his boat, and came on boards and 1 bid him welcome. He was a privateer from Flushing, Captain Frankfort. He asked me how far we were from land. I told him I had yesterday evenirig examined the reckoning with my pilots, but we disagreed a great deal, as I supposed that we were not fifty miles from Cowes, and they both thought we were over a hundred and twenty miles from land ; that he could not understand my reckoning ; and that I had seen small sea-mews which do not go further than thirty or forty miles from land. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 65 He said my reckoning was right, and we would- by- evening see Cowes. The 29th,* the captain requested that I would let my pilots come into the cabin, which I did. He in- quired of them, when there, how far they reckoned themselves to be' from Cowes and Flores. They answered an hundred miles'. He said they had made a bad guess, they would soon see the land ' at Cowes ; that he had been cruising six weeks about here, where he was yesterday evening. After a long discourse, he took his leave of us ; he wished us a safe voyage, and we him much booty ; gave each other a parting shot, and thus separated. The 1st of July, in latitude thirty-three, discovered a sail running by the wind in order to come over to us, when the crew began to cry out that it was a Portu- guese pirate, and wished to repel him by force. The wind was light. He ran about half a cannon-shot ahead of us, but we could discern no flag. I then asked the crew what they had a mind to ,do ; it was a large ship, and if they had the courage to attack him, to keep away after him, and endeavour to ap- proach him. When we began to come close to him, my crew said that he was a Turk, that the ship was Jan de Begyn's, of Rotterdam, which the Dunkirkers had taken and sold to the Portuguese, and which was afterwards captured by the Turks. I said, with a ship of eighteen guns and fifty men, I was not afraid of one Turk, for I had in my youth been engaged in a fight with two of them, the smallest of which had twenty- * Misprint for 30tli. 66 VOYAGES OF eight guns, and the other thirty -three, and three hun- dred men, while I had only one ship of fourteen guns, and thirty men, and by the help of God, came off with honour. My crew replied, that was a case where it was necessary to defend myself, but here we could get away, and there was no booty for us to take. We then pursued our course again, but when we had got to the leeward of him, he set his sprit-sail as if he were a-going to chase us, when I immediately struck my topsail, in order to wait for him. When he saw- this, he tacked about again. Thus we separated from him, and pur- sued our course. The 9th,* sounded- the channel, and found sandy ground. It was the bank which lies south of Ireland. The 10th, in the morning, we bore away to the north of the Scilly islands ; and, according to my reckoning, I sailed fifteen miles over to the land. My under pilot said that it was the coast of France. We had had no latitude (observation) in four or five days. Nevertheless, he maintained firmly that it was the coast of France, and made the point of Land's End, a French Cape. According to my chart, we could not have gone so far east on our last course. I let the ship tack, and I'un to the north, when we immediately obtained the in- creasing ground of the channel. These knowers of the land were then ashamed of themselves. The 10th, (?) I told these knowers of the land, if they wished to be good pilots, they must observe their course and altitude better another time. I depend upon mine to the l^st — until some one comes and says he knows the land, then-the course and altitude may be set aside. DAVID PIETEBSZ. DE VEIES. 67 The 11th, we came near the Lizard. There came also towards us three ships, and we made everything ready, in case we were compelled to have a fight, but kept close to the shore. As they were very large ships, we would rather have run into Falmouth, if we could have reached there, for the chance was a bad one, for one ship to fight three woVues. It was our inten- tion, nevertheless, to- do the best — to show that our ancient courage was not gone — although the chances were bad for one merchantman to fight three ships of war, for it is said that many dogs are the death of the hare. At length, as they began to get near us, it be- came calm, and we careened close to the shore. The admiral, who carried the flag, took a boat ashore, in order to obtain some refreshments, at Falmouth, and came on board of us, and told us that they came from the Vice- Admiral of Holland,* Liefhebber, of Rotter- dam ; and that we need not now have any fear of the Dunkirkers ; it was now in the midSt of the summer, and our ships of war, under Admiral Dorp, were lying before Dunkirk. They then went from aboard us to get their refreshments in Falmouth, and we separated, as we supposed. Along the coast of England, it is necessary, sometimes, to sail slowly, though we had a good SQuth-west wind. ThS 15th, in the morning, saw two ships before us. One looked like a privateer with a prize. We kept close to the prize. Then he went to the leeward, as if to wait for the prize, but as we approached Mm he dared not wait for us,' and started forward again. We thought he was afraid that we were a Dunkirker. He then sailed away with the other vessel. VOYAaES OF The 16tb, in the morning early, we were opposite Dover. The privateer was nearer the French coast, with his prize. There came bearing down towards us, from the English coast, thirteen or fourteen ships of war. They were the Lord Admiral Dorp and his squadron. They did not hail us. Near the Downs, the wind- north-east, there came three large ships sail- ing after us, they came along, two after the privateer, and the other to hail us. They told us to send off our boat. I said that I could .not, as I was fearful the ship had evil designs, inasmuch as we had, four hours before, seen our whole squadron, and thought that this must be a Dunkirker. We were all ready (to fight), and resolved not to send the boat. ' At length, he sent his boat ofl:'^ with a lieutenant, who came on board of us, and who, when he saw what kind of a ship we had, wondered that everything was so prepared, and that we intended to oppose so large a ship as theirs was. He informed us that their captain was Captain Danc- keras, and that the other two ships which had sailed after the privateer, were commanded, one by Admiral Jan Evertsz, of Flushing, and the other by Captain Block. With a head-wind, ran, witli the other ships, into the harbour of Dover, where I understood that this privateer was Captain Backer, from Zealand, and the ship was called the Burning Oven, and had, as a prize, a small Holland vessel, with five hundred boxes of sugar, which came from Brazil. He told me he was afraid, when I came sailing behind him, that I would deprive him of his prize, supposing that I was a Dunkirker. We went ashore here at Dover, and learnt that they had suffered great loss last au- DAVID PIETEBSZ. DE VRIES. 69 tumn fi-om the French rovers, as well as from the Dunkirkers. The iNth, the wind from the south-west, weighed our anchor, and took our leave of the ships of war. They followed, and conveyed the privateer to Wieling. The 20th, sa,w in the' morning, the towers of Eg- mont, and was becalmed. Saw also there, some sail before us. In the afternoon the wind began again to blow a little. The. 21st, in the morning, with the day, vfe saw Kyckduyn. A pilot boarded us, and in six hours we reached Landts Diep, where we run by the Helder, so as to touch the shore. Then, God aiding, we came by evening at the Merchantman's Harbou-rt — . - The 22d, in the morning I hired a boat, which took me to Medenblick", and proceeded by a wagon to Hoorn, and gave thanks to God for my safe voyage. The 24th, I returned to Amsterdam, where I found my |5artner8 at variance with their associates, the other managers, because I had traded from two to four beaver-skins. That was not a handsome thing, and it was not worth mentioning ; especially as the fifteenth article provides that the Pati-oons might trade where the Company had no clerk or commissary. On this account, our business of making colonies must be sus- .pended in places still uninhabited ; so that these man- agers at Amsterdam have done nothing else. than to fight their own shadow, and to drink Rhenish wine in the Klweniers-Doelen* and the other managers to * A famous inn at . Amsterdam, so called from the' " doelen" or target at which the " Kloveniers*' or archers used to shoot. 70 VOYAGES, ETC. look after powder and lead in Brazil, and the mana- gers' magazine, and the yearly meetings of the Nine- teen. As we could not agree with the Company, and my partners at Amsterdam were all directors, and were continually at variance with their associates, on account of trifles, I separated from them, seeing there was nothing but roguery. The rest I will leave un- written. MY SECOND VOYAGE COAST OF AMERICA, WILD COAST IN THE WEST INDIES. Having, with some friends, formed a Compamy, for the purpose of planting a colony upon the coast of Guiana, otherwise called the Wild Coast ; of which Company, Mr. Jan Bicker was one of .the chief Patroons, with others, I resolved to go myself as Patroon, to conduct the settlement ; and I was the first who went there as such, from this country. On the loth of July, 1634, in the ship called the King David, mounting fourteen guns, and having a crew of five-and-twenty men, with thirty planters, in order to make a beginning of the colony, left the Texel, four ships in company, — to wit, two Genoese vessels, and one French ship, — at four o'clock in the afternoon, with a north by west wind, on a course south-west by south. At night the wind blew from the north-west, so that we laid our course with a strong wind and rain, and parted from our company. Took in our topsail. 72 VOYAG-ES- OF The llth, a strong wind as before; our course west- soufhwest. At noon, saw two strange sails to tlie lee- ward. At night it became entirely calm, so that we could not make a steady course. The 12th, in the* morning, it began to blow a little. At noon fell in with three ships which came out of the Maes. Course southerly, with the wind west-south- west. In the first quarter, lay to the north-northeast ; in the second, tacked again, and ran south-west by west, with a stiff breeze.. The 13th, the wind sharpened up so that we could not sail to the south. At noon, tacked again, and ran north-west, with the wind west-southwest. To-day, dealt out the ration ; to wit, two cheeses for the voy- age, and other things In the ration-list in proportion. At evening, spoke a vessel which came by us. The 14th, in- the morning, we saw the coast of Eng- land, lying west by south, from us about five miles, and at noon sailed through the Straits of Dover, with rough weather and rain. The wind north-northwest, and course west by south, and so passed the Singels^ and in the evening the Foreland, when the wind began to sharpen west-southwest. It changed back and forth during the night, with a stiflF breeze. The 15th, the wind west-southwest, as before ; it changed, blowing sometimes from the shore, and then from the sea. Steady rain and wind, so that it seemed as if Neptune were wholly against us ; also, had a small storm from west-northwest. Course south-"west, with steady rain. The 16th, the weather began early to moderate a little, and became entirely calm, so that we took in DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 73 our sails, and let the ship drift. Being out of sight of land, we threw ojit our bow-anchoi* and let it be as long as the tide was running. In about three hours, we were again under sail. Wind south-west ; course north-west by west, with fine weather. At night it was entirely calm. Course west by south ; the wind north-west. The 17th, in the morning, it began to blow a little. Set our course west, and west by south, to the Isle of Wigh^. At noon, it again became calm, so that we threw odt our bow-anchor, in order to stem the tide. In three hours, weighed anchor, and set our course for Wight, for the purpose of obtaining some more bal- last, as we were lightly ballasted. We arrived befii'e Portsmouth at five o'clock, where we came to anchor, and where I went ashore, and ordered a lighter to go with ballast. The 18th, 'took in the ballast, and made everything ready in order to sail again with the next fair wind. The 20th, i-n-the morning, weighed anchor, .and sailed from the Isle of Wight by the Needle, with good weather, and a clear sky. The wind north by west ; going west by south. The 21st, early, there was fine weather with a good breeze, and by evenipg we came to Land's End, lying north of us about five miles. Wind north by west ; course west-southwest. The 1st of August, in the morning, we saw land. It was the Island of Madeira, and was five miles west of us. At noon, saw to the leeward, two sails, and held for them ; came up to them about noon. They appeared to be English pirates, and we hailed them, 10 7'4: VOYAGES OF when it was very evident that they had intended to attempt something. AVind north-east; course south by west, with a clear sky. The 2d, a stiff breeze from the east. Saw in the afternoon the Island of Palms, one of the Canaries. Course south. The 9th was good weather. At noon, observed the latitude, seventeen degrees and forty minutes, and go- ing west-southwest. Towards evening, saw land'rising in three hills, and lying south-west by west, distant about five or six miles. Thought it was the Island of Zsel, but found it was St. Anthony, so that we were much further west than we supposed. Laid our course weit ; the wind north-west by west. ''. The 2'rth, the weather became fine and calm. At noon, got a small breeze west-southwest. Course south, and south by west, with a clear sky. Had here a strong current, which ran to the west. Began to see land birds. The 3d September, in the morning, sounded in seventy fathoms, with white and black sand. The water appeared entirely green. Sounded again at noon, and found fifty-five fathoms. Wind east ; course west, and west by south. Found the stream ran here strong to the north-east, as well, as we could judge. Sounded at evening, and found forty-three fathoms, sandy bottom, as before. Latitude, three degrees and fifty-six minutes. The 4th, weather fine and calm. Sounded in thirty- seven to thirty-five, and thirty-four fathoms. Latitude at night, five degrees and a half, so that we found that the current had carried us to the north-east, since yes- DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VEIES. 75 terday evening, twenty-three miles. Seeing that we could not reach Wiapocke, — as those who wish to touch at Wiapocke must run to the latitude of three degrees and a half, and then west-southwest, and find black bottom, when they will be about twenty-five miles from Wiapocke, and have seventy fathoms of water, — we cast anchor at evening in twenty-eight fathoms, in a clayey bottom. At night, had a hard blow from the south, with rain, but it did not last long. The 5th, saw land at -daylight, between Maruin and Cayana, and found ourselves about six miles below Oayana and the land of Maruin, rising in four high moun- tains, the - middlemost one of which was the highest, and about four miles south-west of us, with a mountain to the west of Maruin. The extreme part of the land of Cayana, was from us about seven miles south-south- east. We sounded in twenty-four, twenty-t^o, twenty, and seventeen fathoms, on hard ground ; and at noon, cast anchor in fourteen fathoms, clay bottom, the Devil's Islands lying west of us about two miles, and appearing, though it was afterwards disproved, a hand- some level land. At noon, ten of us went ashore, and by nine o'clock in the evening, came into the river of Korro, which some call Cawrora-NoAMoe. At its mouth it is deep, for at low water it has two fathoms and a half to three fathoms, with a fine clayey bottom. About twelve o'clock at night, reached a short mile up the river. It was wide within, and from one and a half to two fathoms deep ; and here and there were some rocks. At three o'clock in the morning, six of us went ashore in order to find inhabitants. We first passed a large wood, and after that came on a level 76 VOTAGES OF field, whicli was under good cultivation, and where the grass came up to the waist. About nine o'clock, came to an Indian village; where they received us with all friendship. We informed them that we were Hollanders, and they caused us immediately to sit down, and gave us to eat and drink. Their chief then came to us, and led us into his house, where he treated us well with their liquor, which they make of Casari ; it is thick like hogs-draf, but is whitish, and stronger to drink than Harlem beer. About two o'clock, we set out to return to our boat, and the chief, with two of his sons, went with us. Their village consisted of six or seven houses, and might contain about fifty souls. It stood in a beautiful grove, and was about two miles and a half from our boat. About one mile from this village is another smaller one, which yields cotton and orlian, but not very much, because they do not plant them ; speckled wood also grows here. Arrived at our boat at evening, and left again with the ebb. Remained at night before the mouth of the river. At daybreak, went to the ship, and about noon got aboard. Having a sea-wind, we weighed anchor and left, but towards evening cast anchor again in seven fathoms of water, clayey ground. At night, took our boats to Cayana, in order to ascertain the situation of the coun- try, and get water. The 8th, we were lying becalmed. The 9th, in the morning, had a land-wind, so that we made sail, but it became calm again, and we again cast anchor. At noon, started again, and at night anchored in seven fathoms, having run a fine piece. The 10th, made sail, the wind ofi" land. About nine DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 77 o'clock, our boat came with water, bringing an Eng- lishman on board, who would take us to Cayana. At noon, cast anchor in eleven fathoms, but about three o'clock were under sail again with a stiff breeze. At night, came to anchor a half a mile from Cayana and the cliff. The Lost Child* was about a half a mile from us, lying in five fathoms, and at night in two fathoms and a half, so that the tide falls two fathoms and a half along the coast of Cayana, aiid an east and west moon makes a full tide or high water. The 11th, weighed anchor ; the wind along the shore; 'tacked, but gained nothing, so we ran out a piece to sea again, and let our anchor fall in seven- fathom water, hard bottom,, a short mile from the Lost Child, w;hich was south-southeast from us. The wind south-east, with a stiff breeze. The 12th, the wind and weather same as before. The 13th, got a land breeze, so that we ran out to sea a piece, and at noon came to anchor in seven fathoms. About three o'clock, weighed anchor, with a sea breeze, and sailed south by east, and south-south- east, in seven, six, and five fathom water, along by the Lost Child, and in the evening, anchored under the west shore of the Island of Mecoria^ where the river of Cayana empties into the sea. This island lies be- tween the river of Cayana, and the river Mia. It was half a mile from Cayana where we were lying at anchor, with four fathoms at low water. As you sail in, there is five, four, and three and a half fathoms of water, between the Lost Child and Cayana. We were * A rock. 78 VOYAGES OF no sooner at anchor, than there came a canoe to us with Indians on board, having bananas, and many other refreshments ; among them, the pineapple, which is a delightful fruit for eating. The 14th, landed thirty men to make a beginning of a new colony, to raise the dye orlian, called by the Indians Anoty* and cotton and tobacco, all of which grow here well. Took the men to a hillock, adjoining whef e the ship was lying, where were the ruins of an old fort, and having still two angles of stone entire, made as well as they could be, to prevent the entrance of foreign ships. Found this fort wild and waste, where good sugar-cane grew wild, of which we eat. It was almost as thick as one's arm, so that it was natu- ral that we desired to plant sugar there. This ruined fort appeared to have been built in former times by- the 'French, and lies upon a handsome hill, of tolerable size, by which there is a fine valley for raising fruit, cotton, beans, and tobacco. Two miles from this place, we found seven or eight Zealanders and Eng- lishmen, on account of Jan de Moer, of Zealand, who cultivated tobacco, and had been here eight months. This is an island full of people, all Caribs, as I have mentioned before. They are a warlike people, con- tinually at war with a nation called Arricoens. The chief of Cayana was named Arrawicary, who dwelt two miles from us upon the island, which is sixteen miles I'ound. This chief died while we were here. He was faithful and true to Christians, except the Spaniards, whom he would not hear named. They * The Arnatto. DAVID PIETEBSZ. DE VEIES. 79 informed us, afterwards, that he was full a hundred and fifty years old. It is to be remarked of this people, that when one of their chiefs die, they imme- diately kill all his slaves, saying that they shall serve him in the other world. Among the rest, they also kill his physician, because he had not preserved his life longer ; he might be to him a better physician in the other world, as they told me. These priests they call Peoayos ; we call them sorcerers. Whilst we were here, I observed the nature of the climate, and the condition of the people. The seasons of the year on this coast are diverse ; for in the eastern part of Guiana, towards the South Sea, the dry season, which we call summer, begins in August, and the violent winds and rain, which we consider their winter, begin in February ; but in the western parts, towards the Oronoco, the dry season commences in October, and the rainy season and winter in April. There is little variation of heat and cold, this country lying so under the Equinoctial, and the days and nights being, for the most part, of equal length, like as I observed at Batavia, in the East In- dies ; but these seasons sometimes vary much, and it rains also one year more than another. The people have division, or reckoning of time and numbers. They reckon only by the moon ; as, one, two, three, &c., moons, as we count the days, up to ten, and then, one and ten, &,c. In order to better express their meaning, they put up their fingers, and when they wish to say twenty, they bring their fingers to their feet. When they promise to do anything by a certain time, they deliver a bundle of sticks, and keep one of a like number. In 80 VOYAGES OF order to keep the appointed time, they take a stick out every day, until they have taken all away, when they know that the time which, they had fixed has come, and will then keep their promise. Of the Genius and Condition of the Natives of this Country ; how they are clothed^ and what Pride they home. The Indians, who dwell upon this whole coast, run almost naked. Their hair is black, but sometimes painted red ; eyes black ; holes in the tips of the ears, and generally holes in the nose and lips ; and the whole body painted with the paint which the Caribs call contseuwe, and the Jaos, a/noty. It seems that they prick it, and burn it in with the sun, in youth. Some of the women paint their daughters differently— ^-par- ticularly with certain strange figures — with a black gum. Some of the men wear a cotton covering in front, but very few, and those more from a love of being odd, because they see us covered, than from modesty. The unmarried men generally have a small string tied round their prseputium, and that is fastened to a string which is tied round the neck. The women bear children very easy," and are naturally strong. They carry their children, for the most part, upon their hips, sitting, and also in a cotton-band, when they have far to go. They are of middling size, toler- ably handsome, and painted like the men. They go naked, ^nd they- bind their hair in a bunch. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 81 These people have no religion, as far as I could learn, except that they pay some respect to the sun and moon, like the heathens upon the coast of Coro- mandel, believing that they are endowed with life ; and they worship them, as those of the coast of Coro- mandel do, — who, in the morning, when the sun rises, go and stand in the water, with hands uplifted to the sun, — these people, at that time, prostrating them- selves. They make no offerings, except they observe certain superstitions, in their drunken festivals. They hold a solemn feast upon the death of their- cassique chiefs, or other* great friends, making the ' best provi- sion of their strongest liquor, which they call Perrouw^ for three or four days, or as long as their liquor lasts ; and spending the time in dancing, singing, and drinking, — ^in which they exceed all other heathen nations that I have ever seen, — esteeming him the bravest fellow who first gets drunk. While they are drinking, the wives of the next friends of the deceased stand crying and howling. Whether they observe any superstition in this, I do not know, but this is certain, that their priests and soothsayers, whom they call peayos, as previously mentioned, have at times commu- nication with the Devil, jvhom they name Wattipa^ and are by him deceived. Yet, they hate and fear him very much, and say that he is wicked, and not without great reason, for they are frequently beaten by him black and blue. I have since learned that they worship Tamouoo ; who, according to their say- ings, liv5s above, and reigns over all. The Jaos, es- pecially, worship this Tamouco, every morning and evening. They believe that the good Indians, ffter 11 82 VOYAGES OF death, go upwards, pointing to Heaven, which they call Ooupo ; and that the bad go down, pointing to the ea-rth, which they call Soy. When one of their cassiques, or chiefs, die, if he have any slaves, or other prisoners, they kill them,— but not any of his other servants, — in order that he may be served in the other world. The quality of the land is various in this region. On the sea-coast, the land is low, and the heat would be very vehement there, were it not moderated by the fresh and cool breezes, or easterly winds ; wbich, at the hottest time of the day, blow -^ery strong. In many places, this low land is very unhealthy, and little inhabited, on account of the overflowing of the water ; but it has, for the most part, very fine rivers, fertile soil, and many inhabitants, and is healthy for habi- tation. Upon the mountains, the climate is cold, and the land, in some places, fertile, and in others not ; but it is generally full of minerals, and mines of different metals, yielding as much as any places in the East or West Indies, both of the better and inferior kinds, and in most of the mountains. Upon the mountains, are found very healthy dwelling places. There is, also, a middle kind of land, which is of a medium height, very temperate, healthy, and fertile, and almost all peopled. It is full of lakes and pleasant streams of Avater, fine groves, and pleasant plains, for profit, pleas- ure, and recreation, and not unprovided with minerals. They are very much troubled here with mosquitoes, which they call niapiry^ whose sting is very venomous. The building of many fires is a good remedy. They hav^ there, also, fleas, which they call sico. DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 83. We toill now speak of the productions of the count/ry, ■and other things which serve to sustain the life of onan. The. provision of this land, for supporting life, is manifold. First, the root of cassava, of which they make bread, in the following manner : they break the root upon a stone, and express the juice, which, in its raw state, is poisonous, for I threw a bit of it to a hen, which died, therefrom immediately ; but, boiled with Cayenne pepper, — of which they have a great abun- dance, — it aifords an excellent and wholesome sauce. They then dry the bruised root, and bake it upon a stone in the same manner as oatcakes are baked. This bread is then fit to. be used ; they bake it as thick as ■one's finger. There is a species of large wheat, called maize or Turkey wheat, like that of Virginia, which grain is a peculiar provision for this country, and is very productive, yielding a thousand or fifteen hundred for one, and frequently more. It makes very good flour for bro^d, and good malt for beer or ale, and serves various necessary purposes, for the support of man. Of the before-mentioned, cassava bread, and of this Indian corn, they make a liquor, which they csiUpas- ■sianiw^ which must be used in four or five days. They .make also another beverage of cassava, which they <;all pernouw, or perranon ; which they prepare in large pots, and boil it, as they do beer in Holland. It foams, and is as good and strong as the beer of Breme, but it is semewhat hot ; it has, also, as high a colour as Breme beer, and can be kept good ten days. There are several kinds, some strong, others weak, 84 VOYAGES OF some thick, others thin, but it was all good, and well prepared, when we were among the Caribs and Arwackes, who are the neatest of all those nations. There is a great" abundance of honey, and although it is found wild in trees and holes in the earth, it is as good as any in the world. Good mead can be made of it. There are no vines, but as the land is fertile and rich, and the climate warm, they would grow there, if they were planted, and furnish fine wines ; which, for this region, would be very wholesome ; though I would be afraid of their becoming sour from the heat. Of the Wild Beasts and Cattle. Many other necessaries for the support of man are to be found here, wild, of all kinds. Swine, in great numbers, of two species ; one, small, called by the In- dians, fpcldero^ which has the navel on the back ; the other, named panigo, as large and fine as any swine, and weighing from one hundred and fifty to one hun- dred and eighty pounds. There are also multikides of hares and rabbits, but different from ours ; they are like young deer, twenty-four hours old. There are leopards, tigers, — one of which, an Indian, while I was here, took and played with, while lying in his hammock, — armadillos, ')nai2)uries^* — ^whose meat tastes like beef, — haremoes, which tastes like mutton, — and other small animals of various flavour and colour : as apes, innumerable monkeys of different kinds, good to eat — though I was not willing to taste th^ta — besides many * The tapii-. DAVID. PIETERSZ.. DE VEIES. 85 strange animals ; as the Caribs, who had been with one of our. men up the river of Oaparwaca^ and in other places, told us. There are deer, which the Indians call osary / wild hogs, white, which they call ahihera ; lions, waricory^ — having red hair, the fore legs like the hind ones, three toes on each foot, head like an ape, and a short tail ; it is sluggish, and a small eater, wonderfully slow in moving and climbing. There is also an animal, to which we gave the name sageioyntjes, of the size of a rat three weeks old, with copperish marks above the eyes, and four small feet, like those of a water-dog ; it is very tender, and cannot be kept alive in confinement. Baboons, also, are very numer- ous. Of the Birds of the Country. Here are wild ducks, teal, geese, herons of various colours,, cranes, storks, pheasants, partridges, pigeons,^ thrushes, blackbirds, snipe, parrots of different kinds, and many other species of birds of which I have no knowledge, both large and sniall, of exquisite colour, besides large birds of prey, and hawks. of all sorts, and beautiful ravens. Of the Kinds of Fish ivhich are caught. There are many kinds of fish ; first, of sea-fish, beam, chub, sole, perch, roach, blackfish, sturgeon, like salmon, as it is red, like that at Batavia, in the East Indies. It is of the same species, and is on the shell like the salmon, except the colour. There are shrimps, lobsters, and oysters, which grow on the branches of trees, which appears very wonderful ; also, 86 VOYAGES OF a rare fish called Cassoorwa^ wliicli lias two organs of sight ia each eye ; one of which, in swimming, it holds above, and the other, under water ; its back and ribs are like the back and ribs of men, the one being round and the other flat, and it lias a backbone ; it is somewhat larger than a smelt, which it very much resembles in swimming; it keeps always along the shore, in large schools. There are many other very good fish ; the accare, which are not unlike the croco- dile, but thinner and longer, and shorter heads ; they come upon the land, but feed upon fish ; they are goqd to eat, but difficult to catch, having an acute smell, by which they become aware of danger. The oioawna^ very similar to, but smaller than the ayamare, — a large species of shad, which keeps in deep water, and is very choice eating. Moreover, of fresh fish, there are many, but for the most part, they are unknown to us, though they are all very good and delicate ; so that it may be conscien- tiously said, that this country, according to its climate, may be compared, for variety and excellence of the fish, with any country in the world. There is also a sea-fish which generally comes into fresh water, espe- cially during the winter and rainy season, called by the Indians, ccjumero, and by the Spaniards, manatee, and by us, the sea-cow. It is an even chance, if a person, who had never seen one before, should catch one, he would not know but that he had a young bull or hei- fer, for it has ribs, and is lined with fat, and the hide • is like a cow's hide, is suitable to make buff-leather and, dried in the sun, and dressed with oil, is good for shields against the arrows of the Indians. There DAVID PIETEES7. DE VRIES. 87 is a fish here, called oakop in the East Indies, very fine for eating, as large as a ^cod, with scales the size of a copper ; and also another, called in the East Indies, sambilanhy which keeps in the fresh water. The coa^ which are crabs, are to be found in great numbers in the low swampy grounds, and all along the coast. The fruits are of various kinds : pineapples, plan- tains, potatoes, medlars, plums of different sorts, nuts of curious shape. The pineapple, or ananas, is as excellent and as large as that of the East Indies ; no better fruit can be found ; the flavour is like that of a strawberry and a ripe pippin; the potato is well known ; the medlars are very large ; the plums are not to be praised, because, when plentifully eaten, they cause a diarrhcea,-^which, in this country, is very dangerous, according to my observation ; and so of the common greens of the country, nafi^ which are not un- like the eastern rev/ven. There is a tree, which grows here, as large as a pomegranate tree, with pale-green downy leaves, and white flowers, but of more leaves, and of no scent ; from the blossom, first comes only a large bean, like the kidney of a rabbit, from which grows a fruit in the shape of a pear, and the bean re- mains hanging below it ; there is a pit in it, which tastes like a hazel-nut, and under the skin is an oil, which is good for inflammation in the face. Of the Commodities of tlie Country. The most important production of this country is the sugar-cane, of which there are immense quantities. The land is as well adapted to it as any in the world. 88 VOYAGES OF It grows very large in a little time ; and by cultiva- ting, and tlie erection of proper buildings for extracting the sugar, which would cost a good deal at first, great wealth would be realized, as we can see has been done by the Portuguese, in Brazil and elsewhere. Cotton is a general article of merchandize, and is very useful for merchants and for us, to make fustians and bombazines and other goods, and also to make hammocks — which are the beds of the Indians, and very necessary in this region — -and , calicoes. There is, besides, a kind of hemp or flax, of great value, almost as fine as silk, and can be used like it ; it makes very excellent linen. They have here peculiar dyes, one of which is called Aunoto, which grows on trees as large as cherry-trees. These trees bear large nuts, which burst open when they are ripe, and within the kernels of which are small berries of a red colour. These, well prepared by the Indians — which they do with palm-oil — pro- duce a perfect dye of a fast orange colour ; but the Indians cheat much, by mixing cassava with it. There is another berry, which dyes a blue colour ; and a cer- tain gum of a tree, which makes a perfectly fast yellow colour in cloths ; and leaves of trees, which, properly prepared, give a deep red colour. There is also a wood which dyes purple, and is of great valae; and another, which yields a yellow dye; besides many others, undoubtedly, which are as yet unknown ; but which, by careful search, will some time or other, be discovered. Many aromatic gums are found here ; but as I have no experience in the science, I know not what virtues DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 89 they possess. Cassia fistula and senna-leaves grow here, and the earth yields Armenian-bole. There is a tree, with which they catch their fish, worthy of special consideration. It grows generally near their dwellings ; and when they wish to go a-fish- ing, they carry some branches of it to the creeks, — which at high water are for the most part full of good fish. They take the sticks and beat them upon the stones until they become as soft as flax ; and running up the creek, which they had previously stopped up at high water with the branches of other trees, they throw this wood, which they had by beating made like flax, into the water when it is half run out. When the fish come swimming to the surface of the water, they become intoxicated ; and, finding the creek stopped up at its mouth, they leap upon the land. Some come floating belly upwards, and are scooped up out of the water ; or, if they still swim, they are shot with- arrows through the body, so that aiy one can catch as many as he wishes.* While I was walking by the seaside, I saw a whale fighting with a swordfish, and the water was as red as blood ; as often as the whale jum;^d out of the water, and in terror of the swordfish, he spouted the water frightfully. The swordfish stuck him as he came down under the belly, which made him spring out of the water again. It was wonderful to see. There is a tree of red-speckled wood, called by the inhabitants pwaUmTiere, and in the Netherlands, lette)'- * Bancroft describes this mode of intoxicatiag the fish by the natives of Guiana, by throwing into the water the bruised root of Hiarra. (pp. 322-3.) 12 90 VOYAGES OF wood. It is excellent for all kinds of cabinet-work. The tree grows up straight, and has a smooth white bark ; the letterwood is the hea:^t of the tree, in which it grows; there are no leaves on the tree, except at the top. Good tobacco can be grown here ; and there are rich mines, but they have not been well explored. We will now resume ow Voyage. After I had lai» here four weeks, and put my colonists whom I had settled here in order, they set about planting thirty thousand dye-trees, a hundred thousand cotton-trees, and a hundred thousand tobacco- plants, each of which yields a half-a-pound of tobacco, which commands a good price. The 14th of October, about nine in the morning, we weighed anchor for Cayana, and took with us the grandson of Arrawycary, the principal chief, who was deceased, as before related. This youth was desirous of visiting the Netherlands, and I was the more will- ing to take him, because it would make my colonists more contented. Set our course northerly towards the Lost Child, in three and a half, four, four and a half, five, six, seven and eight fathoms of water, and at evening came to, a little below the Devil's Islands, in ten fathoms, the wind from the east. The 15th of the same month, we weighed anchor, and sailed along the coast in nine, eight, seven and six fathoms, clay bottom. The coast trends almost north- west by west ; the land is low, and here and there a mountain. At noon, lay to below the river called Senamana, in three fathoms at" low water, a mile from land. The coast is flat, so_that the river is difficult to DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VEIES. 91 be found, except by two rocks M'^hich lie a little below the river, and another white rock, which lies half-a-mile further in the sea. You can see there a small opening into the river, very narrow, and having only two feet of water at low tide, but at high tide about nine. It lies between the rivers Suraco and 8ine7iaH. The coast stretches west-northwest, and north-west. I went three miles up this small river, as there was living there a French captain called Captain Schanbou, who had dwelt there three years, and had twelve French- men with him. He had a ship loading there with aggie, or long pepper, and he expected daily the arri- val of another for the same purpose. He compelled me to stay all night with him, which I did, going to him with the yacht. We caught a hog which had its navel on the back, and his gunner shot thirty-three teal at one shot, at which I was astonished. In the morning, took my leave of the captain, thanking him for his hospitality. I observed that these Indians are not as thievish as in other countries, for we had let our boat lie at night without a guard, and found that they had been by it and had moved the goods about, but that they had not taken anything. The French captain said that he had oftentimes gone inland with all his people, but had never missed anything. The l^th, we got under sail, the wind along the shore, and set our course north-west, and north-west by west, and west-northwest, and anchored at evening about three miles from land, which is very flat. It is three, four, and four and a half fathoms deep^ about three miles from land. The 18th, we were under sail again, and laid our 92 VOYAGES OF course west-nortliwest, the wind along the shore, and at noon came to anchor between the rivers Arruma and Marriwyn in thirteen feet at high water, soft clay bottom, so that we had not at low tide more than five feet, and were then fast, though it was difficult to lie here, as we could not hold the ship fast because the current changed each time with the tide. So we had a great deal of trouble with our anchors, and had every afternoon a stiff breeze from the sea. I went at noon, with eight men, to the river -Amana, to see if there was any trade. In the morning of the 19th, went two miles up the river, where we found some houses of the Arrewackes, but no men. We fired off a musket, when two In- dians immediately came to us, and conducted us to their houses. They were Arwackes, and gave us to eat and drink. A distance further inland, dwell some Arwackes, but at this time there was not much to trade, because it was too early. The dye-plants were still standing in the fields, and the letterwood and redwood could not be procured, because they must be got in the rainy season, which begins in November. Those who want to trade here, must manage to be on the coast in January, for at that time the trafiic is best. About ten o'clock, we went up .the river with the tide, leaving our sloop with a Frenchman, and at evening reached a village where the Caribs lived, who received us in friendship, and where there were ten or twelve houses. It is about eight miles up the river. We re- mained here at night, very much tormented by the- mosquitoes, and in the morning went with the son of the Cassique about three miles into the country, where DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 93 we found another Carib village of seven or eight houses. They entertained us well with their liquor, and we then went a mile further, to another large vil- age of Caribs, consisting of eighteen or twenty houses. We found here mostly women, as the men had gone after fish and crabs, which are their chief food. We found nothing here to trade for, it being too early, as before stated. At evening, returned to our sloop, and spent the evening in a frolic with the Indians, for it was a festival-time with them. In the 'morning, went with the ebb-tide down the river, and on the evening of the 20th, reached the ship. This river, at high- water, is ten feet deep at the mouth, and is deep with- in, and is therefore a fine- river to navigate with a yacht. The land is all low, and has nothing else but trees, and is without hills ; .it is extremely flat, the trees standing and growing in the water, with their branches hanging in water, covered with oysters, of which I ate. On the 21st October, went with our sloop to the river of Mariwyne, and saw at once how deep it was. Found, for the most part, eleven to twelve feet at high- water, till we came at the mouth of the river. We found in the middle of the river a sand-bank, entirely dry at low-water. The're was an opening on the east side, very narrow, and about ten feet deep ; and also one on the west side, but how deep it was, I do not know. The river stretches " to the south--^pst, and about two miles up are some islands. It is hardly a mile wide. Such is its situation, as far as l^iave been able to discover. About a mile up lies a village where Arw'ackes live, but they had all gone to Ser- 9-i VOYAGES OF nama, except one woman, who' watched the houses. Many different nations live here ; to wit, Caribs, Jaios, Arwackes, Percoren, and many others besides. They promised to furnish us in-arnother year, a full shipload of letterwood. Whilst we were ashore here, a Neth- erlander came to us, who had left the ship in which he had come, on account of the Indian-pox, and as he was now better, he requested that he might go to Holland with me, and came aboard our ship. Any one who has this disease must be cured here; even though he may^have it in Holland, he must return here to be cured ; for it is like the Amboyn-pox in the East Indies. Young children of a month old can here be afflicted with it. There came with him to us two Frenchmen, who had run away from Captain Schan- bou ; they resided at Cunama, and all three lived in an Indian village. The 23d, weighed anchor ^and got under sail, the wind from the shore, and the course north-west, and afterwards west. The land trends to the west, and is all low. The water three to four fathoms deep, fine bottom. In the evening, let anchor fall in five fathoms, about two miles and a half from land. At break of day, in the morning of the 24th, weighed anchor, — wind east, course west, and west by south, — five, and four fathoms, firm bottom, — and about noon, came before the river of Sorname, and ran in south- east by*outh. It was first three fathoms and a half deep, then four, and four and a half, firm ground, and in some places hard. We cast anchor in four fathoins and a half, and lay behind the sandy-point, close into the shore. We could see both rivers ; ' to wit, the DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 95 river of Sername, the more westerly, and Comannini^ the more easterly. To sail into the Comawin, you must keep to the larboard-side, for it is deep there, and then the river runs as far as you wish. There had been here, five or six days before, a ship from Flush- ing, whose master was named Packemack. He had lain here in Comawin full four months, and obtained from fifteen to sixteen lasts of letterwood. Towards evening, went with our sloop to the river of Sername, and in the morning of the following day, came to one or two houses which were made with palisades round them like a fort. An Englishman, named Captain Marshall, lived there with sixty English, and wanted to plant a colony. It was about sixteen miles up the river. We remained a day and a night with the captain. The land along the shore is very low. In ascending it, when the tide fell, we went into tlie bushes on the shore with our sloop, — ^for the trees stand there three feet in the water ,^and we made our hammocks fast to the trees, and then got. in them to sleep until the tide began to run up again. We had to draw our hammocks over our heads, as the mosqui- toes were very numerous. The 26th, took our leave of Captain Marshall, and went down the river again. It is a fine deep liver, and can be navigated by a large ship. In descending it, we found, about six miles from our ship, an English- house, where there were fourteen or fifteen English- men, who planted tobacco. Got aboard by evening. The 27th, sailed from Sername, and ran north-west by north, along the point east of the sandy-point, and , came to another point ; then have the two in range, 96 VOYAGES OF or tlie last a little further out, and take care that you go, if you can, west-northwest, for you are then free from the bank that runs out from the west point. Ran west-northwest, and then west by west, in from four to five fathoms, firm bottom. Cast anchor at night, about two miles and a half from land, in five fathoms. The 28th, set sail, the wind from the shore. Came to anchor at noon before Sername, well known by the point which you see by the land. You must keep off somewhat from the east point, because there is a reef • running before it, and there is not more than ten to eleven and twelve feet water, so that* our ship would have been held fast unless we had made our way far enough off, and set our course that Sername lay about east-southeast, two miles an^^ a'half from us. . Could there see it all open, lying south-east by south, about three mUes. Laid here in four fathoms at high-water. It is very flat, and whoever wishes to sail into Sername, must run close to the starboard-shore, where it is thir- teen feet deep at high-water. We found here Packe- mack, of Flushing, with his ship. The 30th, weighed anchor, and took aboard full a hundred and fifty Indians, men and women, who prayed us to take them to Timenare. They were of a nation called Swpaye, and were apprehensive that the Caribs would kiU them. We went west-northwest, in five, six, seven, eight, nine and ten fathoms water, muddy bottom, and sailed about' four miles from the shore, and anchored in the evening. The 31st, got under sail in the morning, and set our course west-northwest. It began to be calm at noon. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 97 The water was twelve to fourteen fathoms, and we anchored in the evening in eight fathoms at high-tide. The bottom was hard, the shoals were gravelly and were distant about three miles from the shore. The 1st of November, weighed anchor, the wind being along shore ; course west, with a fine breeze. At noon, sailed past Berbysie. The water four, five, and six fathoms deep, muddy bottom. Anchored at night in five fathoms. , The 2_d, we weighed anchor. Course the same as before, and by noon came into the river of Timmerarie. The channel stretches south-west by south, and is two fathoms and a half and three fathoms deep in the shallowest part at flood-tide. It runs about three- quarters of a mile from the east shore, where it is the deepest. Here we disembarked the Indian men and women, — who immediately prepared their habitations with pieces of wood, — as they were near their friends. Whilst we were lying here, Jan Vander Goes came with a canoe from the river of Is~ekehie, where he was commander for the West India Company. The Vth, set sail from Timmerare ; the wind east- northeast, the course north, with a fine breeze. The 8th, it was again unsettled, with rain and wind, so that we took in our topsails. The 11th, in the morning, saw the island of Barba- does lying about four miles east of us. It was cloudy ; the wind east. Laid our course west, and west by south, and set our topsails. At evening, saw the island of Bequia, and some islands of the Gfranades ; but we were a little too far south, and so that we ran by the wind. Sailed north by east, with a strong wind. 13 98 VOYAGES OF The 12th, in the morning, were on the east side of St. Vincent, lying about west from us. On the north side, it has high steep mountains, and farther towards the south side, it is also high, and the land doubles. We ran to the north point' of the island to anchor. In the first bay, which lies close by, is a rock like a hay- stack, a short distance from the land, — you must run as close to the west side of it as you can, — we ran close under the shoj'e and came to in twenty-three fathoms. A multitude of canoes came to us kere with refreshments. The 13th, at nine o'clock in the morning, our cooper died, after having lain sick seven weeks. The 14th, weighed anchor and made sail; the wind easterly ; but after we were a little distance from the land it became calm. At night, had occasionally a slight breeze. Our course north by east. The 15th, in the morning, St. Lucia lay across us. It is low on the south side. A little distance from the point are two mountains like sugar-loaves, and then, further along, are high mountains. Had the wind east-northeast, the course north-east. At evening, tacked about, because the wind was so sharp, and ran south-east and south-east by east. The wind was at times a little stronger, and then a little weaker, after that it became violent. The 16th, the wind variable, so that we lost more than we gained, and at evening were again under the south point of St. Vincent. To the 24tli of this month, we had much variable weather and wind ; but, by our reckoning, we saw the Island of Trinidad before us. DAVID PIETEKSZ. DE VRIES. 99 The 25th, we had fine -weather, and ran at noon in sight of high land, in the middle of which was a low valley, and off the east point of which were two small islands. The wind east-northeast, and our course north, and at night sailed off and on. The 26th, in the morning, got out our boat, which I sent ashore with seven men, to see whether there were any Indians, and if there were a good harbour there. My boat returned late in the evening, and repoi-ted that there was no anchorage, and nothing on the land but high steep cliffs, and that they found no signs of men. We had here variable weather continually. The 1st of December, the weather became fine ; wind east-southeast, course north-east by north, in latitude fifteen degrees and eighteen minutes. At evening, saw the Island of Dominica lying about east of us. Ran over four glasses* into the first watch, because the wind was^so sharp, but the wind dying away, we turned to the north by east, and north-northeast. At break of day on the 3d, saw the Island of Aves and St. Christophers, and on the third day came to anchor under Nevis, where a small English ship was lying at anchor, bound for Ireland. The 6th, a Hoorn's man came in from St. Christo- phers, to wait for a packet which was at St. Christo- phers, and sailed with her for Guadaloupe. On the 13th, five Holland ships arrived from Per- nambuco, and anchored by us, bound for Cape de VeUe for salt, and for Curacoa for wood. The 25th, we weighed anchor and sailed for St. * Two hours. 1635, 100 VOYAGES OF • * Christophers, and came to under the French fort in the afternoon. I went ashore there, and found a Frenchman, named Monsieur de Nanbuck, in com- mand. I traded for some tobacco, and was well treated by him. Anno The Ist of January, weighed anchor, and put for a harbour before the fort of the English, where a person named Captain Warnas commanded, and we took in a parcel of tobacco. The 15th, we ran to the sand -point, where I found four French ships at anchor, two of which came from Cape de Verde, the other two were taking in tobacco here. The lYth, Schellinger, of Mendenblick, arrived here with a prize which he had taken at Margarita, having lost his sailmaker, who was shot in boarding. The 4th of February, learned that the Spanish fleet had arrived at Guadaloupe, and wanted the ships toa-un to the leeward, and I said that I would not lose my passage on account of the Spanish ships, and must see whether I could pass by them at night. The 10th, we weighed anchor and got under weigh, and at evening came about Redonde, and stood towards Montserat, but as the dusk of the evening began to come on, two ships followed after us, which it appeared had kept through the day behind the Island of Redonde, in order to observe the ships which might pass there lying there in wait, it seemed, for the Spanish fleet. One of them sailed towards us, and began to shoot at a distance, and exchanged signals constantly with the other. We cleared for action, and I let the rigging hang. He sailed close behind us, and asked whence DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES.' 101 our ship. He was evidently an Easterling who hailed us. He told us to wait for his admiral. I said if they wished anything, they should come by day, and at the same time told him to keep behind us, or I would shoot into him, which he scarcely desired. He called to us again to strike, and wait for his admiral, and laid his bowsprit across us. We said we would- shoot. He then immediately held off, when we heard a great noise of people, all speaking Spanish. He hauled short off from us when he saw that we mistrusted him, and we left him well assured that these ships were those who were lying in wait for the Spanish fleet, and in the morning saw no more of them. The 11th, at evening, came in sight of Martinique. The 12th, in the morning, had Bequia east of us. Ran along the coast of the Island of Granades, and fell in with a canoe of Caribs (who live on this island) with provisions ; but they are a thievish set, and one must be on his guard with them. Anchored at evening on the south end of a fine sandy bay, where there was a salt pond. We went ashore with the boat, but found no salt there. The 14th, weighed anchor early in the morning, with a brave east wind, and laid our course south by west, and by evening carried little sail. The 15th, in the morning, discovered a number of small islands in a round group. They w5re the Tor- tugas. We kept near them, and sailed through them, and found the most westerly islet an excellent sandy bay, where we anchored in eighteen fathoms, and sent our boat ashore. There was nothing here but bare naked cliffs and rocks, where there were many hares 102 VOYAGES OF and coneys, such as we have in the sand-hills in Hol- land, and shot about thirty-one hares, which were not unlike the coneys in taste. The 16th, weighed anchor, and at night saw the Tortuga, whence they take salt, but did not venture to stop there for salt, because we were alone. Carried a little sail at night. The 17th, saw the island of Orchilla in the morn- ing, and coming to it, sent my boat to wood, which came back immediately, bringing nothing, as it was wild, and we did not wish to lose any time. Sailed, at noon, by the Island of Kocca, and at evening came to the Island of Aves, and made little sail, so as not to pass by Bonnapere. The 18th, reached Bonnapere in the morning, but saw no salt in the pond. Ran under little Bonnapere, and laid our course for Curacoa, and coming before Curacoa, had so much wind that we hauled in both the mainsails. Presently, there came out twp ships, one of which was the Otter, commanded by Houte- been, and the other was the Cat, and were bound for the mainland for a prize, and they told me that I could not reach Curacoa, as the wind and current ran too strong to the west. We resolved, as it blew hard, to lay our course north by west, with reefed sails. The 20th, at evening, saw the Island of Spaniola Copo Colorigia, and stood along the shore, with little sail. The wind and our course west-northwest. The 21st, found ourselves in the morning close by the Island of Yache. Observed that the eastern shore of the island was full of rocks and rushes, and about noon passed this island, and ran to Cape Tibu- DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 103 ron. About three hours after noon, we met a small yacht of the West India Company's fleet, which hailed us, and inquired where we wanted to go. Answered him to the Tortugas, behind Spaniola. He told us we must sail cautiously, as on the 9th of January, he had run away from the Spaniards, who had killed between five and six hundred Englishmen. The 22d', Cape Tiburon was east of us, and a Zea- . land privateer, named Maertman, whose commander was named Pieter Jansz, who came aboard of us, and inquired where we wished to go. Answered him, to the Tortugas. He told us that we should be careful, as he had come from thence, and had careened his ship there. Whilst he was doing that, the Spaniards came and ravaged the island, where they killed and made prisoners many English. He was lying under the English fort, upon which nine pieces of ordnance were mounted, which the Spaniards immediately spiked, as it was night. Maertman, whilst his boat was under the fort, had brought two cannon upon the land. When it was day, he hauled his cannon from the shore, and defended his boat with the' two pieces which he had in the ship, as he lay close to the shore. When he had his boat again on board, none of the Spaniards dare come to the fort. They then ran over the plan- tations to drive away the English. At night, there came a sloop with Spaniards, who ignorantly rowed or sailed upon the reef ; but Maertman was aware of this (as it was close by his ship), and sent his boat armed to them, and took them aboard. Thus the governor of the English saved himself by the assistance of this privateer, who presented him the captured Spaniards, 104 VOYAGES OF with whom he did not hold much parley, but imme- diately killed them ; for which Martman did not have much respect, as he had handed over these prisoners in order that some of them might be ransomed. All this was told us by Pieter Jansz Martman, who gave himself out as commander of Martman's ship. We also learned from him that he had taken a prize with fifteen can- non, and laden full of Cumarie wines, but had sailed the same prize on the weather-shore, to the Island of Jamaica. He directed us to look well before us, as the Spaniards, with their four vessels, were full of peo- ple, with whom they had made this attack. They had one ship and three barks, with a small boat. He then took his leave, exchanging a salute with us ; we sepa- rated from each other, and we wished him a good prize and a prosperous voyage. The 23d, early in the morning, met at the Caiviite-s, on the west end of Spaniola, a fishing-boat, with a wood sloop, which was full of the English refugees, who had fled from the Island of Tortuga. They requested that I would take the people from the wood sloop (who were twenty-five strong) with five-and-twenty from the fishing-boat, which was so full that they could not move. But my crew were afraid to take so many people on board, but I answered them that these were not English seamen, that they were planters, that there was no danger of their running the ship away, that I knew well how to converse with those people, and un- derstood their language, and also that I could not let them perish in the sea, for they were Christians. Af- ter a long discourse with my folk, as we were only five-and-twenty men strong, they thought it was very DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 105 absurd to take on board fifty strangers, not thinking in what misery these people were, who had no food, and who durst not go ashore to hunt for any, because they had no ship to convey them. I at length took the ' fifty men on board, and sailed that day with them be- hind -the Caimites, an island, where we anchored in . ten-fathom water, and upon a coral bar. Immediately took some English ashore, with one who could manage tlie harpoon, and caught a sea-cow, which they brought on board in the evening, with three large turtles. As it was not entirely safe to lie here in foul bottom, and as water could not be got, we resolved to go to the Bay of Groava, in the Island of Guanabo^ about ten or twelve miles deeper in the Gulf. The 25th, weighed anchor in the morning, and arrived in the afternoon in the Bay of Goava, where was fine fresh water running down from the mountain to the sea-shore, and where we had only to lie with the boat, and scoop the water in the casks at the bows. We went ashore here, with eighteen or twenty Eng- lish in our boat, who were well acquainted with it, and who took their dogs to hunt. This is a fine bay, and •has about ten feet water, fine bottom. The boat re- turned in the evening, bringing three wild hogs, which the English had taken with their ■ dogs, and about six thousand oranges and lemons ; so that this . is a very fine place for provisions. Besides, we caught some fine fish with the drop-line. The 26th, went ashore again in our boat, with a party of English, and returned at evening with fifteen or sixteen thousand oranges and lemons, and with seven wild hogs, which they had hunted. 14 106 VOYAGES OF The 27th, saw a Holland boat, with a sloop's sail and foresail, lying on the shore, a cannon's shot from lis, and I discovered by my spy-glass that the boat was full of people. Immediately sent my sloop and boat, well manned, and boarded it. There were five- ' and-tweuty Spaniards. The captain of the vessel showed me a letter that he had been captured by Eoebergen, having a fine ship laden with hides. They had given him back this boat, and thereupon I let him go again. The 4th April, after having well prdvided ourselves in this bay with provisions and water, we resolved to sail in the morning to a salt pond, which was situated by Cap.e Saint Nicholas. The 5th, we weighed anchor, and at noon came to anchorage at a high mountain. There was a plain around it, and a small salt pond by the mountain. This salt pond lies between Guanives and Cape Saint Nicholas. We laid here in fifteen-fathom water, on a sand}'' bottom. I went ashore to examine the pond, and found that there was salt in it. We immediately prepared to make a scaflbld, to take in salt for bal- last. The 6th, finished our scaffold, and began to take the salt from the pan, and after we had collected three or four boat-loads of salt it began to rain, and the salt was immediately dissolved by the fresh water. We hauled the salt on board which we had collected, and if it had not been in the rainy season we might have'laden three or four ships with salt. It was con- venient to haul, not being more than thirty paces from the sea. We shot here many birds, — flamingoes, and DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 107 others, — and it was also full of wild horses, which we saw running by hundreds in the morning. The 10th, weighed anchor at break of day, and set sail, and reached Cape St. Nicholas in the evehing, and ari-ived on the 12th, before the island of Tortugas, which the Spaniards had left, and found there Roeber- gen, from Zealand, who had with him the prize which he had taken from the Spaniards, as before related, with two other ships, one of which was from Schiedam, and the other from Middleburgh. We also found here a vessel, in which the governor of the English was bound for Virginia. We trafficked some Brazil wood Mobile we were lying here, and as it blowed a storm daily, so that we could not go out, our English went daily to the island of Spaniola to hunt, to catch hogs and horned beasts, and we lay here safe, through the bad weather, till the 20th of April. I asked the English -whether they did not wish to inhabit the is- land again ; they answered that they were afraid of the Spaniards, if they should undertake to inhabit it ; so they could not be persuaded to it. This island is at the north end of Spaniola, and at the distance of a mile. Beautiful rills run down from the fresh streams and plenty of fresh water can be had there. There are also upon the island of Spaniola fine savannah or pasture-lands, where many cattle run wild, and also horses and swine. There are no Spaniards on the north side. • There are many oranges and lemons grow- ing wild. The 3d of May, we weighed anchor on the east end of Tortugas, and got under sail. The 7th, in the morning, saw the Caicos, the shoal 108 VOYAGES OF with the small islands, which you have in sight from the Tortugas. On the north side there is a clump of trees, which looks like a fort or wooden wall. "We had rain dealj, and between the Tth and 8th, we passed by the island of Mayrguana. There came upon me a stiff- ness at night (as I had been lying asleep in the rain) that confined me to the cabin, such as I had never known. The 11th, had a hard storm from the north-east, so that we ran with the foresail. The 16th, came in sight of the mainland, and sounded fourteen fathoms on sandy bottom. Saw the sand-hills of Vii'ginia, and were near Cape Migano, in lati4;ude thirty-four and thirty-five degrees. The I'rth, came before the harbour of English Vir- ginia, and as there was no one in the ship, except myself, who had been there, the helmsman and boat- swain came in the cabin, and had me carried on deck, in order to sail the ship. We arrived at four o'clock in the afternoon before the fort called Point Comfort, where we found a ship irom London, in which was Sir John Harvey, governor on behalf of -the King of Eng- land. He was sent to England by his council and the people, who had made a new governor, which turned out bad for them. I landed here all the English whom I had brought with me, and endeavoured to obtain some provisions, in order to sail to New Netherland, to make my ship tight, as it was extremely leaky, which I could not do in the English Virginias. As it was out of season to obtain tobacco, I let all of my cargo lie here, and gave directions to trade when the crop of tobacco should be ripe, and I would return again DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VKIES. 109 when tlie unhealtliy season should be over, that is by September, — -for June, July, and half of August are very unhealthy there for those who have not lived there a year. The English die there at this season very fast, unless one has been there over a year, by which they say he is seasoned ; that is, he is accustomed to the land. They attribute Ihe cause of the unhealthiness of this land, which lies in latitude thirty-six to thirty- seven degrees, to the variableness -of the climate ; one hour it is so hot, at this season, that a man cannot endure the heat, the next hour the wind shifts to the north-west with such freshness, that he has to put on an overcoat, and that causes the great unhealthiness. The 28th, after I had provided .myself again with everything, we weighed anchor, and sailed for New Netherland, where we arrived safe behind the point in the evening of the 30th. The 1st of June I went ashore at Fort Amsterdam, where I found Wouter Van Twiller, governor, as before. » Asked him if he would hire me some carpenters, in order to repair my ship, which was very leaky ; if not, I would sail to New England. He promised me assistance. I then sent my boat back, in order to let my ship come in, which was five miles from there, and a young man, who might pilot her in, who had formerly, when I went to the East Indies, been in my service. When my boat was about half an hour from the ship, there arose a thunder-storm, which they could not weather, and the boat got full of water, and drove for two nights and three days at sea. I wondered very much why my ship delayed so, with a good wind, with which she could sail In in three hours. I sent one of the Com- 110 VOYAGES OF pany's yaclits on board, which, the next day but one, came sailing in with the ship ; and there came an In- dian from the island* to the fort, bringing news that my boat had gone ashore, and that the young, man. Flips Jansz, of Hserlem, was in it, and that they had found him lying one fathom or two from the breakers, and had brought him to theii' wild houses, as he was entirely exhausted, and that the other five men from the ship were lost. The boat the Indians had hauled up on the land. The 5th, the young man, who had been wonderfully saved, came to the fort ; and he told us, that when he encountered the travado, there were two Frenchmen in the boat, who betook themselves to the sea, when it was full of water, intending -to swim aboard (of the ship), but they were never seen again. The first night, as they .were all seated in the water in the boat, two more of them betook themselves to the water, intend- ing to swim to the land, but they were not seen again. Flips Janz and my boatsAvain, who was with him, re-» mained in -the boat. The second night, and the third day in the afternoon, the boatswain told Flips Janz, who was to pilot the ship in, that he also would aban- don the boat ; but Flips Janz answered that he would remain in the boat, and wait the providence of God. In about a quarter of an hour after the boatswain was out of the boat, and had taken his leave of him, he was thrown with the boat on land by the sea and breakers, and he ran five or six paces from the watei', and was so weak and hungry that he could not go further, and * LoDg Island. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. Ill ttere the Indian found him. He said, that while they were seated in the boat, and driven about with it full of water, such spirits were about them, as appear when one has eaten and drunk ; and, at length, one appeared like a fine lady ; so I suppose that these apparitions were only their light-headedness from the hunger and hardship which they suffered. We prepared to clean the ship, in order to get at the leak, and unloaded her, and had her hauled upon the strand,- — as the wa- ter rises and falls here seven feet, with every daily tide, and at spring-tides, nine to ten feet, according to the force of the wind. We spent here the unhealthy season of the English Virginias, — June, July, and August. The 1st of September, we were lying ready to go to the English Virginias, to see whether we could obtain our dues- from the rescued English, whom I had brought from the Tortugas, and for the goods left there. While I was taking my leave of the governor, the bark of the Company arrived, bringing fourteen or fifteen English with them, who had taken Fort Nassau from our people. As our people had no one in it, they intended to guard it with the boat, but they found that they must take possession of it again, or else it would be de- stroyed by the English. This arrival of the Englishmen delayed me six days longer, as Governor Wouter Van Twiller desired that I should take them to the English Virginias, from whence they expected assistance. They therefore took their leave of Wouter Van -Twiller, who was governor, and came, bag and baggage, on board my vessel. The 8th, we again got under sail with the English- 112 VOYAGES OF men. Their commander was named Mr. Joris Hooms (George Holmes). We sailed, with a strong north- west wind, along the weather-shore. The 10th, we arrived at Point Comfort, before the English fort, landed the Englishmen whom we had brought with us at Cicketan, where we found a bark lying with twenty men, bound for the South river to aid them, but our arrival with their people prostrated their design. We sailed up the river eight miles, to Blank Point, and found there thirty-six large ships, — all of them English ships of twenty, to twenty-four guns, — for the purpose of loading with tobacco. Fif- teen of the captains were.dead, in consequence of their coming too early in the unhealthy season, and not having been before in the country. The 1st of October, I began to sail up and down the river, according to my license, in order to collect my debts ; but found that little tobacco had been made, and that there had been this year great mor- tality among the people, and large quantities of goods brought into the country by the English ; and that there were great frauds among the English, who had not paid each other the tobacco, and that half the ships of their own nation were not laden ; so that I consider, in regard to this trade, that those who wish . to trade here, must keep a house here, and continue all the year, that he may be prepared, when the to- bacco comes from the field, to seize it, if he would .obtain his debts. It is thus the English do among themselves ; so that there is no trade for ns, unless there be an overplus of tobacco, or few English ships. After I had spent the winter here, I was compelled DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 118 to return, as did most all the ships, without tobacco, and to let my debts stand. I determined to go off, ^nd traffic for beaver with the English. The 28th April, I came with my ship again to the Anno fort before Cicketan, where I learnt that my colony, which I had established on the wild coast, was broken up by the disorders of some English and seamen who were among them. Those_^who want to plant a colony, must not let any sailors among them, unless the place be so situated that they carry on the trade with a ves- sel. The cause of abandoning the place was : there came a Spaniard with slaves to seek for water, when our people induced the Indians to show them the water. In the mean time our people ran off the bark and killed the Spaniards. And then the English, who were under our people, went to them and told them that if they would go to the Islands with the bark, they (the English) must be the captains ; for they would be going to their own nation, and would there share the booty, but our people must acknowledge that they were their servants ; and thus our fine colony was lost, which, if they had remained there for two months, would have had an hundred and fifty thousand guild- ers' worth of cotton, orlian, • and tobacco. But these scoundrels got their reward for abandoning this colony so well begun. When they reached the Islands, the English, who had the title of captains, sold the prize, and the sailors as servants. The English are a villainous people, and would sell their own fathers for servants in the Islands. The 6th of May, weighed anchor to sail to New Netherland. The English Virginias are an unfit place 15 114 VOYAGES OF for our nation to trade, unless they continue the trade through all the year. The 7th, we saw the South river north by west of us, about three miles. Sounded upon the bar which runs along the coast in four fathoms, and were sur- prised at its being so shallow. The 8th, arrived at evening at Sandy Hook, and stood in immediately, so that at two o'clock at night we anchored under the fort, without their being aware of our arrival. At break of day I fired three guns, which caused the people to spring out of their beds all at once, for they were not accustomed for any one to come upon them by such . surprise. I went ashore immediately to speak to the commander, Wouter Van Twiller,- as my ship was very leaky. When I came to the said commander, I was welcomed by him, and I requested assistance to repair my ship. The 6th,* hauled the ship into the Smith's vly,f where we unloaded all our goods and careened the ship. The 25th, we hauled into the stream again, and found her still leaky, and then resolved that we would let the ship lie, and put the goods aboard the West India Company's ship ; but as that was not large, and would not be able to carry our goods, we determined to consult the carpenters whether there was any means of making our own ship answer, and for that purpose they sought after the leak, and found, what we had * This is evidently a misprint for 16th. • f This is a Dutch word still in common use. It is a contraction of the word valUye — a valley. DAVID PIETEBSZ. DE VEIES. 115 not supposed, that it was in the keel, which was en- tirely eaten by the worms. -We then resolved to go into the woods, and cut a good oak tree ; where we procured a new keel, sixty feet long, and made the ship tight again, and hauled her up the stream. The 25th of June, I went with the commander arid minister to Pavonia, opposite the fort, in the colony of Michael Pauw,- where the person who was in com- mand there for Michael Pauw, was named Cornells Van Vorst. He had arrived, with a small English bark, from the Northern English, bringing with him from thence good Bordeaux wines ; and as the com- fnander wasfond of tasting good wines, he was treated therewith. Whilst we were there, it so happened that there were some words between the commander and minister and Cornells Van Vorst, in relation to a murder that had been committed there ; but they Separated afterwards good friends, when Cornells Van Vorst, wishing to give the commander a parting salute, fired a piece of cannon which stood upon a palisade before his house, when a spark flew upon the house, which was thatched with rushes, and in half an hour it was entirely consumed. We returned to the fort, and I went to the ship and set to work to haul everything aboard again. Whilst we were engaged in shipping our goods, two prizes, taken by the Eng- lish, arrived. They had first, with a sloop and eighteen men of them, taken, near Carthagena, a fine new and fast sailing frigate' df about thirty lasts, laden with tobacco and hides, and then with it took a small bark, having hides aboard. They brought them to New Netherland, and ran into the South river, where- they 116 VOYAGES OF found one of our trading sloops, which brought them to Fort Amsterdam. These fellows were fitted out by nay Lord Warwick, in order to begin a settlement at the Island of Nombre de Bios ; but through want of assistance and provisions, were compelled- to abandon it, and had obtained a copy of a commission from one of our privateers, with which they had performed this feat. They sold their prizes here at our fort, and shipped their goods in the West India Company's ship, and put ten of the Englishmen in mine. As to which the captain maintained that it was forced upon him, as he wished to have his men with his goods ; and wanted to have his goods in my ship, as I would have taken all his men with me also ; but the com- mander, Wouter Van Twiller, compelled him to ship all his goods in'the Company's ship, and compelled me to carry over ten of the Englishmen, all which trading by force was very unreasonable. The 8th of August, the gunner of the fort gave a parting feast, and had a tent erected on the top of the fort, where a table and benches were set for many guests. When the banquet was at its highest, the trumpeter began to blow, as to which some words were passed ; when the keeper of the store, Hendrick Hudden, and keeper of the freight, railed at Corlaer, the trumpeter, who gave each of them scmter quanter^ whereupon they ran home, and brought out a sword and wished to have reVenge upon the trumpeter. They went to the house of the commsCnder and used much foolish language, one calling out, " I am the same man who took the life of Count Floris." But when they had slept upon it, their soldiership was all over, and DAVID PIE.TEESZ. DE VEIES. 117 were more afraid of the trumpeter than when they sought him ; and thus the matter passed over. The 9th, let my ship sail up the river to the Great Fall, which is a mile beyond Metiates (Manhattan) Island, in order to take in water and wood. The 13th, I r-equested Wouter Van TwiUiger io reg- ister Staten Island for me, as I wished to return and plant a colony upon it, which he consented to do. I took my leave of him and went aboard. Weighed anchor, and by evening came to anchor at Sandy Hook, in company with the Company's ship. The Seven Stairs. The 15th, weighed anchor, as did also the Com- pany's ship, and set sail for Patria, to which may Al- mighty God conduct us. The 25th September, overtook a fleet of English ships, which came from St. Lucia, and were by con- trary winds driven to the westward. There was among them a smuggler from Hoorn. I hailed the English- man, what latitude they had, and how far he calculated Scilly was from them ; as I had hailed the Company's ship the evening before, and he told me that he was an hundred and seventy miles from land, the Scilly Islands east-northeast from him ; which differed much from me, as I calculated I was eighty miles from them east by north. The Englishman told me that they were ninety leagues east by north of the Scilly Islands, which agreed well with me, as our miles are a little more than their leagues. These mistakes happen fre- quently, partly because many pilots do not understand the variation of the compass, and partly because they do not understand the shortening of the way by the rotundity of the earth. 118 VOYAGES OF The 1st of October, we hove in sight of the land of Wemborough right before Arundel, in a storm, so that we came into the channel with a pair of mainsails, and saw at evening the light of the Singels, and in the second watch the light of Dover. The helmsman then came to me and inquired whether we should not go north-east. I showed him that we were too close to the shore, and that a north-east course would soon make us coldfeet^ and I told him to go east-northeast on the last watch, and that it would then be day, and that we must drift along till then in a straight course, and when the day broke then go north-east, and north-east by north. The 2d, at evening, it appeared as if the wind would come out of the north-west ; veered a little seaward. The 3d, laid our course towards the shore, and found we were north of the Haechen; then stood over to the Vlie. There came sailing behind us a large ship, which we hailed. The captain said it was the Hen, of Hoorn. We came in the evening of this day with the ship be-, fore the Castle in the Vlie. The 4th, made great effort to reach Hoorn in a boat, and arriving there, learned from my partners that the red-dye wood was worth only a rix dollar and three guilders a hundred, which made us a bad voy- age ; for our expectation, when we left, was to obtain eighteen or twenty guilders a hundred, as for sixteen or seventeen years it had been worth that ; so that in- stead of having, as we intended, fifteen or sixteen thousand guilders' worth of wood, we had only fifteen or sixteen hundred, which made it a losing voyage for us; but this, nevertheless, had not been so if our DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 119 colony in Cayenne had remained, whicli would. have yielded us a hundred thousand guilders a year in com- modities, had they not abandoned the place, as I have before related. The work was done, and could be re- paired again with little trouble, whenever the partners at Amsterdam should wish it ; but they abandoned it on account of the loss of this colony which I had be- gun, and- by my experience started ; which would have returned to us great profits, in cotton, orange-dye, and sugar, — which they would have raised there, — and to- bacco and letter-wood, — which grows upon that coast only,— five good articles of trade, which would have increased more and more. I have seen this done in Barbadoes, which in my day was not above a hundred men strong ; making at first a little tobacco, which was not much thought of; but since then, they have commenced planting cotton and making sugar. And there can be seen full a thousand men in the Caribby Islands, and much shipping, both of the English and of our own nation. The French, also, hav-e planted many colonies. But nothing has been done by us in conse.- quence of the bungling of the West India Company, which covets the profits of all the trade before they are grown. This is my view, and he who has under- standing and experience can perceive whether it is right or not. MY THIRD VOYAGE AMERICA AND NEW NETHERLAND, IN ORDER TO PLANT A COLONV UPON STATEN ISLAND FOR MYSELF AND FREDERICK DB VBIES, SECRBTABT OP THE CITIT OF AMSTERDAM AND A MANAGER OF THE WEST INDIA COMPANY UNDEkTAKEN AT HIS REQUEST. The 25th of September I am in a Company's ship, -^""o treighted by them, and in which are some persons m my service. On the same day, weighed anchor and set sail in company with some ships bound to the Straits, and two to Spain. The 28th, near the Kisoassen, a Dunkirk frigate came into our fleet, and began to shoot at our ships, but received so prompt an answer,, that, thanks to Grod, he made off from us. The 9th of October, we saw the Island of Madeira east gf us ; the wind north-west, and so remained with us to the sixteenth degree of latitude, before we ob- tained the trade wind from the north-east. The 28th, we had a west wind with a gust. We were about two hundred miles from the Caribby Is- lands, — the Island of Seada west of us, — and were much surprised to have, in the track of the trade, such a contrary wind, which continued with us five days with such violence. 16 122 VOYAGES OF The 8th November, came in sight of Ladeada, the first island which Franeis Qohimhus saw when he dis- covered the West Indies. The 10th, we arrived at the Island of Nevis, and anchored in a fine sandy bay, and went ashore to the governor, who treated me well, and would have me spend the evening with him ; but imprisoned the mas- ter of the ship for refusing the anchorage duty, who was a clownish boor, and was not accustomed to this navigation ; so I settled with the governor what was to be paid, and he was set at liberty again. The 13th, jveighed anchor, and went to St. Christo- phers, where we laid at the sandy point for three days, and then left. The 16th, having weighed anchor in order to pro- ceed on our voyage to NewNetherland, sailed at noon along by St. Martin and A.nguilla, and by evening saw Somhareren. When we sailed by Anguilla, the helmsman tried to make me believe it was Sombareren ; so well do pilots sometimes remember where they do not daily go^^that they do not know whether they see one island or another. The 18th December, sounded in thirty fatho^jis in thirty-seventh degree of latitude, and ran into twenty- three fathoms, and tacked again from the shore, as evening approached. Thus they^ converted a good wind into a bad one. I told the pilot, who was ignorant of this navigation, that he must run into four- teen fathoms, to approach the land, for if we turned at night towards the sea from twenty-three fathoms, we could not during the day get into fourteen fathoms, as in this latitude a strong current set out from the DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 123 . bay of the English Virginias. I could not make him understand what I told him, till finally, in consequence of the time that was lost, he was compelled to give heed to me. Early in the morning of the 24th, we came opposite Barnde-gat, the wind north-east, blow- ing so hard that we ran out to sea ; afterwards it blew a storm straight on the shore from the south-east, so that we sailed the whole night and also all the day of the 25th under one mainsail. It seemed as if we felt the same tempest here, as that in which so many ships and men were lost in the Texel. The 26th, moderate weather again, the wind south- west. Saw land again from on board, and at noon came in sight of the highlands of Sandy Hook, and at four ^'clock Beached the point, where the pilots wanted to cast anchor and fire a gun, in order that gome one might come off and pilot the ship in. I told him that his cannon were not heavy enough for them to hear the report at the fort, which was five miles dis- tant. Then the skipper said he would return to the West Indies, as he saw the island covered with snow, and wait there till summer. ! I answered him, that if we could not get in here, I would take him to the South river. Biat I could not make him understand that there was any South river, inasmuch as he had old false charts by whiclp he wanted to sail. As there were some passengers, who had dwelt several years in 'New Netherland, they urged him to ask me to t^e him in, as I had been there with my own ship at night, as be- fore related. The skipper then came to me, and asked me if I would sail the ship in, as I was well acquainted here. I answered him that I would do so for the sake 124 VOYAGES OF of the passengers who were ou board ; and that he, at • another time, if he took freight, should employ pilots who were acquainted with the places. So I brought the ship that same evening before Staten Island, which belonged to me, where I intended to settle my people, and at dark let our anchor fall in eight fathoms. The 2'7th, in the morning, the weather became very foggy, so that one could hardly see from the stem to the stern of the ship. The skipper then asked me whether we should lie there, as there was nothing in sight. I told him to weigh anchor, and although it was growing darker, I would, with that breeze, bring him before the fort in an hour. The anchor being raised, we quickly sailed to the fort, where thei^e was great r^oicing, inasmuch as they were not expecting any ship at that time of year. Found there a com- mander, named William Kieft, who was.- sent to the station from France, and had come in the spring, having wintered in the Bermudas, because they did not dare to venture upon the coast of New Netherland, in consequence of the ignorance of their pilots. Going ashore, I was made welcome by the commander, who invited me to his house. ^39° The 5th January, I sent my people to Staten Island to begin to plant a colony ther*e, with assistance to build. The 4t]i of June, I started north in a yacht to the Fresh river, where the West India Company have a small fort called the House of Hope, and at night came to anchor in Oyster Bay, which is a large bay which lies on the north side of the Great Island, which DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 125 is about thirty miles long. This bay put up into the island, and is about two miles wide from the mainland. There are fine oysters here, whence our nation has given it the name of Oyster Bay. The 6th, had good weather at break of day, and got under sail, and at evening arrived at the Rodenberghs* (Red Hills) which is a fine haven. Found that the English had begun to build a town on the mainland, where there were already three hundred houses and a fine church built. The Yth, having weighed anchor, arrived at the Fresh river about two o'clock in the afternoon, where at the mouth of the river the English have made a strong fort. There was a governor, Lion Gardiner, who had had a Netherland wife from Worden, and he himself had for- merly been an engineer and working-baas in Holland. They cannot sail with large ships into this river, and vessels must not draw more than six feet water to navigate up to our little fort, which lies fifteen miles from the mouth of the river. Besides, there are many bare places or stone reefs, over which the Indians go with canoes. Remained at night at this English fort, where we were well treated by the governor. The 8th, took our leave and went up the river, and having proceeded about a mile up the river, we met, between two. high steep points, some Indians in canoes, who had on English garments, and among them was one who had on a red scarlet mantle. I inquired how he came by the mantle. He had some time ago killed one. Captain Stone, with his people, in a bark, from * New Havea 126 VOYAGES OF whom they had obtained these clothes. .This was the captain of whom I have before spoken in my first voy- age to America, who had the misfortune of his boat- men eating-each other ; and he had now lost his own life by the Indians. The 9th, arrived with the yacht at the House of Hope, where one Gysbert Van Dyck commanded with four- teen or fifteen soldiers. This redoubt stands upon a plain on the margin of the river, and alongside it runs a creek to a high woodland, out of which comes a val- ley, which makes this kill, and where the English, in spite of us, have begun to build up a small town, and had built a fine church, and over a hundred houses. The commander gave me orders to make a protest against them, as they were using our own land, which we had bought of the Indians. Some of our soldiers had forbidden them to put the plough into it, but they had disregarded them, and had cudgelled some of the Company's soldiers. Going there, I was invited by the English governor to dine ; when sitting at the table, I told him that -it was wrong to take by force the Com- pany's land, which it had bought and paid for. He answered that the lands were lying idle ; that though we had been there many years, we had done scarcely anything ; that it was a sin to let such rich land, which produced such fine corn, lie uncultivated ; and that they had already built three towns upon this river, in a fine country. There are many salmon up this river. These English live soberly, drink only three times at a meal, and whoever drinks' himself drunk, they tie to a .post and whip him, as they do thieves in Holland. The 12th, among the incidents which happened DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 127 • while I was here, was that of an English ketch arriving here from the n6rth,with thirty pipes of Canary wine. There was a merchant with it, who was from the same city, in England, as the servant of the minister of this town, and was well acquainted with him. Now, this merchant invited the minister's servant on board the vessel to drink with him ; and it seems that the man became fuddled with wine, or drank pretty freely, which was observed by the minister. So they brought the servant to the church, where the post stood, in order to whip him. The merchant then came to me, and requested me to speak to the minister, as it was my fault that he had given wine to his countryman. I accordingly went to the commander of our little fort or redoubt, and invited, the minister and the mayor, and other leading men, with their wives, who were very fond of eating cherries ; as there were from forty to fifty cherry-trees standing about the redoubt, full of cherries. We feasted the minister and the governor and their wives^ who came to us;' and, as we were seated at the meal in the redoubt, I, together with the merchant, requested the minister to pardon his servant, saying that he probably had not partaken of any wine for a year, and that such sweet Canary wine would in- toxicate any man. We were a long while before we could persuade him, but their wives spoke favourably, whereby the servant got free. Whilst I happened here, a;nother farce was played. There was a young man, who had been married two months, who was complained of before the consistory, by Tais brother, that he. had slept with his wife before they were mar- ried ; whereupon they were both taken and whipped, 128 VOYAGES OF • and separated from eacli other for six weeks. These people give out that they are Israelites, and that we at our colony are Egyptians, and that the English in the Virginias are also Egyptians. I frequently told the governor that it would be impossible for them to keep the people so strict, as they had come from so luxurious a country as England. The 14th, took my leave of the House of Hope. This river is a fine pleasant stream, where many thou- sand Christians could obtain farms. The 15th, early in the morning, we arrived again at the mouth of the river, and ran out of it. Sailed this day four mUes past Eoode-bergh, and came into a river where the English had begun to make a village, and where over fifty houses were in process of erection, and a portion finished. The 16th, weighed anchor, and sailed by two places which the English had built up, and at noon arrived where two Englishmen had built houses. One of the Englishmen was named Captain Patrick, whose wife was a Dutch woman from the Hague. ' After we had been there two or three hours, proceeded on our voyage, and at evening reached the Minates^ before Fort Am- sterdam, where we found two ships had arrived from our Pat/ria, one of which was a ship of the Company, the Herring^ the other was a private ship, the Fire of Troy^ from Hoorn, laden with cattle on account of Jochem Pietersz, who had formerly been a commander in the East Indies, for the King of Denmark. It was to be wished that one hundred to three hundred such families, with labourers, had come, as this would very soon become a good country. DAVID. PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 129 The loth February, I liave begun to make a planta- tion, a mile and a half, or two miles 'above the fort, as there^ was there a fine location, and full thirty-one morgens of maize-land, where there were no. .trees to remove ; and hay-land lying all together, sufficient for two hundred cattle, which is a great article there. I went there to live, half on account of the pleasure of it, as it was all situated along the river. I leased out the plantation of Staten Island, as no people had been sent me from Holland, as was stipulated in the con- tract which I made with Frederick de Vries, a man- ager of the West India Company. The 15th of April, I went with my sloop to Fort Orange, where I wanted to examine the land, which is on the river.. Arrived at Tapaen in the evening, where a large valley, of about two or three hundred morgens of clay-soil, lies under the mountain, three or four feet above the water. A creek, which comes from the high- land, runs through it, on which fine water-mills could be erected. I bought this valley from the Indians, as it was only three miles above my plantation, and five miles from the fort. There was also much maize-land, but too stony to be ploughed. The 25th, opposite Tapaen, lies a place called Wick- quaes-geck^ where there is much maize-land, but stony or sandy, and where many fir-trees grow. We gen- erally haul fine masts from there. The land is .also mountainous. The 16th, went further up the river. Passed the AversPt'O, where a kill runs out, formed from a large fall, the noise of which can be heard in the river. The land is also very high. At noon, passed the highlands, 17 1.30 ■ VOYAGES OF whicli are prodigiously higli stony mountains, and it is about a mile going through them. Here the river, at its narrowest, is about five or six hundred paces .wide, as well .as I could guess. At night, came by the Dance-chamber, where there was a party of Indians, who were very riotous, seeking only mischief, so that we were on our guard. The 2'7th, we came to JEsoopes, where a creek runs in, and there the Indians had some maize-land, but it was stony. Arrived at evening, as it blew hard, be- fore the Cats-kill. Found the river up to this point, stony and mountainous, unfit for habitations. But there was some lowland here, and the Indians sowed maize along the Cats-kill. The 28th, arrived at Beer en (Bears') Island, where were many Indians fishing. Here the land begins to be low along the margin of the river, and at the foot of the mountains it was good for cultivation. At evening, we reached Brand-pylen's Island, which lies a little below Fort Orange, and belongs to the pat- roons, Godyn, Konselaer, Jan de Last, and Bloemart, who had also there more farms, which they had made in good condition at the Company's cost, as the Com- pany had sent the cattle from Fatherland at great expense ; and these individuals, being the commis- sioners of New Netherland, had made a good distribu- tion among themselves, and while the Company had nothing but an empty fort, they had the farms and trade around it, and every boor was a merchant. The 30th of April. The land here is, in general, like it is in France. It is good, and very productive of everything necessary for the life of man, except clothes, DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 131 linens, woollens, shoes and stockings ; but these they could have if the country were well populated ; and there could be made good leather of the hides of ani- mals, which multiply in- great quantities. Good tan could be made of thB bark of oak-trees. The land all along this river is very mountainous; some cliflFs of stone are exceedingly high, upon which grew fine fir- trees, which may be discerned with the eye. There are, besides, in this country, oaks, alders, beeches, elms, and willows, both in the woods and along the water. The islands are covered with chestnut, plum, and hazel-nut trees, and large walnuts of different kinds, of as good flavour as they are in Fatherland, but hard of shell. The ground an the mountains is bedecked with shrubs of bilberries or blueberries, such as in Holland come from Veeluwes. The level land, or old maize-land, is covered with strawberries, which grow here so plentifully that they answer for food. There are also in the woods, as well as along the river, vines very abundant of two kinds, one bearing good blue grapes, which are *pleasant when the vines are pruned, and of which good wine could be made. The other kind is like the grapes which grow in France on trel- lisses, — the large white ones which they make verjuice of in France ; — they are as large as the joints of the fingers, but require great Irfbour, for these vines grow in this country on the trees, and the grapes are like the wild grapes which grow along the roads in France, on vines which are. not pruned, and which are thick with wood, with little sap in it, for want of bein^ at- tended to. There was this year, as they told me, a large quantity of deer at harvest and through the win- 132 VOYAGES OF ter, very fat, having upon their ribs upwards of two fingers of tallow, so tliat they were nothing else than clear fat. They also, had this year, great numbers of turkeys. They could buy a deer for a loaf of bread, or for a knife, or even for a tobacco-pipe ; at other times they give cloth, worth six or seven guilders. There are nlany partridges, heath-hens, and pigeons which fly together in thousands, and our people sometimes shoot thirty, forty, and fifty of them at a shot. Plenty of fowl, such as belong to the river, and all along the river are great numbers of them of different kinds ; such as swans, geese, ducks, pigeons, teal, and wild geese, which go up the river in the spring .by thou- sands, from the sea-coast, and fly back again in the fall. Whilst I was at Fort Orange, the 30th of April, there was such a high flood at the island on which Brand-pylen lived,- — ^who was my host at this time, — that we were compelled to leave the island, and go with boats into the house, where there were four feet of water. This flood continued three days, before we could use the dwelling again. The water ran into the fort, and we were compelled to repair to the woods, where we erected tents and kindled large fires. . These woods are full of animals, bears, wolves, foxes, and especially of snakes, blaSk snakes and rattlesnakes, which are very poisonous, and which have a rattle at the end of the tail, with many rattles, according to their age. As to what the land produces^ the soil, which on the mountains is a red sand or cliffs of stone, but in the low plains, often clay-ground, is very fertile, as Brand-pylen told me that he had produced wheat on DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 133 this island for twelve years successively witliout its ly- ing fallow. He also told me that here the Indians put their enemies to death, as horribly as this plate shmo-s, and had for some time past done justice to their ene- mies in this place. They place their foe against a tree or stake, and first tear all the nails from his fingers, and run them on a string, which they wear the same as we do gold .chains. It is considered to the honour of any chief who has vanquished or overcome his ene- mies, if he bite off or cut qff some of their members, as whole fingers. Afterwards, the prisoner is com- pelled to sing and dance, entirely naked, before them ; and finally, when they burn the captive, they kill him with a slow fire, and then eat him up ; the commoners ■ eating the arms and buttocks, and the chiefs eating the head. When these Indians fasten their enemy to the stake, he is compelled to sing, and accordingly be- gins to sing of his friends, who will avenge his death. They inflict a cruel death upon him, pricking his body with hot burning wood in different parts, till he is tormented to death. They then tear his heart out of his body, which every one eats a piece of, in order to embitter themselves against their enemies. Along this land runs an excellent river, which comes out of the Maquas county, about four miles to the north of Fort Orange. I went there with some Indians, and passed by a farm upon which a boor lived, whom they called Brother Cornells. This river runs between two high rocky banks, and falls over a rock as high as a church, with such a noise that it is frequently heard at the farm, and when I was there it made such a loud noise that we could hardly hear each other speak. 134 VOYAGES OF The water flowed by with, such force, that it was all the time as if it were raining, and the trees upon the hills, as high as the dunes at home, have their boughs constantly wet as if with rain. The water is as clear as crystal, and fresh as milk, and appears all the time as if a rainbow stood in it, but that arises from its clearness. There are a great many Indians here, whom they call Maquas, who catch many lampreys, otherwise called pricks. The river is about six hundred to seven hun- dred paces wide at this place, and contains large quan- tities of fine fish, such as pike, perch, eels, suckers, thickheads, sunfish, shad, striped bass, which is a fish which comes from the sea in the spring, and swims up the river into the fresh water as the salmon does. There are sturgeon, but our people will not eat them ; also trout, slightly yellow inside, which I myself have caught, and which are considered in France the finest of fish. There are several islands in this river, of thirty, fifty, and seventy morgens of land in size. The soil is very good. The temperature is in extremes, in the summer excessively hot, and in winter exceed- ingly cold, so that in one night the ice will freeze hard enough to bear one. The summer continues to All Saints' day, and in December it will freeze so hard, that if there be a strong current, which loosens it, it will freeze in a night what has run over it in the day. The ice continues generally for three months, and although the latitude is forty-three, it is neverthe- less always frozen for that period ; for though some- times it thaws in pleasant days, it does not continue to do so, but it freezes again until March, when the river first begins to open, sometimes in February, though DAVID PIETEESZ.de TRIES. 135 seldom. The severest cold comes from tlie north- west, as in Holland from the north-east. The reason of this cold is that the mountains to the north of it are covered with snow, and the north-west wind comes blowing over them, and drives all the cold down. This tribe of Indians was formerly a powerful nation, but they are brought into subjection, and made tributaries by the Maquas. They are stout men. Well favoured of countenance, body and limb, but all of them have black hair and yellow skin. They go naked in the summer, except they cover their privy parts with a patch ; but the children, and youth of ten, twelve, or fourteen years of age, run entirely mother-naked. In winter they throw over them an unprepared deer-sMn or bear's-hide, or a covering of turkey's feathers, which they know how to make ; or they buy duffels of us, two ells and a half long, and unsewed, go off with it, sur- veying themselves, and think that they appear fine. Tliey make themselves shoes and stockings of deer- skins, or they take the leaves of maize and braid them together, and use them for shoes. Men and women go with their heads bare. The women let their hair grow very long, tie it together a little, and let it hang down the back ; some of the men have "it on oiie side of the head, others have a lock hanging on both sides ; on the top of the head, they have a strip of hair from the forehead to the neck, about three fingers broad, and cut two or three»fingers long ; itthen stands straight up like a cock's-comb; on both sides of this cock's- comb they cut it off close, except the locks, as may be seen in the plate. They paint their faces red, blue, and brown, and look like the devil himself. They 136 VOYAGES OF smear their foreheads with bear-grease, which they carry along with them in little baskets. It would be much better for them to wash themselves, if they only thought so, and they would not be troubled with lice. Whenever they go journeying, they take Math them some maize and a kettle, with a wooden bowl and spoon, which they pack up together and hang on their backs. When they become hungry, they immediately make a fire and cook it ; they make the fire by rubbing sticks together, and that very rapidly. They live generally without marriage, promiscuously; for though there are some who have wives, they con- tinue together no longer than it suits both, and sepa- rating, each one takes another. I have seen them leave each other, and live a long time with another, leave the second, and return to the first, and be a couple again. When they have wives, they do not let them sleep with another, and the wives the like. The women, after they are delivered, go imme- diately away, and if it be not cold, they wash them- selves and the young child in the river, or in the snow. They will not lie down, for then they say they would starve, but they keep a-going. They cut wood, they walk, they stand, and work as if they had not been delivered, and we do not see that it injures them. The men have their concubines in great subjection. If they do anything which displeases them, they seize a stick and beat them on the head, and so finish them. After I had observed the manners of these Indians, who carry on a fierce war with the French Indians, Corlaer told me that he had been at their fort, where they had brought some Indians they had captured on DAVID PIETERSZ.DE VEIES. 137 the river St. Lawrence, wiiere the French live. They had taken three Frenchmen, one of whom was a Jes- uit, — whose release our people hoped to obtain, — and had killed one.* All the children, of ten or twelve years of age, and the women whom they had taken in the war, they spared, except the very old women, whom they killed. Though they are so revengeful towards their enemies, they are very friendly to us. We have no fear of them ; we go with them into the woods ; we meet each other sometimes at an hour or two's distance from any house, and we think nothing more of it than if a Christian met us. They also sleep in the chambers before our beds ; but lying down upon the bare ground, with a stone or piece of wood under the head. They are very slovenly and dirty. They do not wash their faces or their hands, but let all remain upon their yellow skin, just as the savages do at the Cape of Good Hope, and look like hogs. Their bread is maize, beaten between two stones, when they are travelling ; but pounded sometimes, when they are in their houses, in a large block, hollowed out, as may he seen in the plate. They make cakes of it, and bake them in the ashes. Their other food is deer, turkeys, hares, bears, wild cats, and their own dogs, the country kept by these disputes, so that it was not set- tled ; for there were friends enough who would have * Kiliaeu. 19 146 VOYAGES OF peopled tlie country by patroonships, but they were always prevented by the contention of the managers, who were not willing to do anything themselves, for they would rather see booty an-ive, than to speak of their colonies ; but had the land been peopled, the fruit thereof would have beeii long continued, while their booty has vanished like smoke. There may be some managers and book-keepers who are well off by it, but it does no good to the community, as the cultivation of the soil where every one is well off, and there is a steady income, is better than all the bopty which we see consumed in bawdy-houses ; for where is now all the booty of which the Dunkirkers have robbed us, and also all the booty of Flushing, which was taken from the Portuguese ? It has also vanished like smoke, and those privateers who have taken it have gone to naught ; they have drunk to no purpose, and p against the wall. Anno 'p]je 20th August, the ship Eyckenboom (Oak-tree) arrived here, in which canie a person named Malyn, who said that Staten Island belonged to him, that it was given by the managers to him and to Heer Vander Horst, which I could not believe, as I had sailed in the year thirty-eight to take possession of said Island, and my men were now upon it. I thought better things of the managers than this, as the sixth article of jDrivi- leges mentions that the first occupants shall not be prejudiced in their right of possession. The 1st of September, my men on Staten Island were killed by the Indians ; and the Raritans told an Indian, who worked for my people, that we might now come to fight them on account of our men ; that DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 147 we had before come and treated tliem badly on ac- count of tbe swine ; that there had been laid to their charge what {hey were not guilty of, and what had been done by the Company's men when they were on their way to the South River, who came ashore on Staten Island to cut wood and haul water, and then at the same time stole the hogs, and charged the act upon the innocent Indians; who, although they are bad enough, will do you no harm if you do them none. Thus I lost the beginning ®f my colony on Staten Is- land, by the orders of Commander Kieft, who wished to charge upon the Indians, what his own people had done. The 2d of November, there came a chief of the Indians of Tankitekes, named Pacham, who was great with the governor in the fort. He came in great triumph, briaging a dead hand hanging on a stick, and saying that it was the hand of the chief who had killed or shot with arrows our men on Staten Island, * and that he had taken revenge for our sake, because he loved the Swannakens (as they call the Dutch), who were his best friends. The same day Commander Kieft asked me whether I would permit Malyn to go upon the point of Staten Island, where the maize-land lay, saying that he wished to let him plant it, and that he would place soldiers there, who would make a signal by raising a flag, to make known at the fort whenever ships were in the bay, to which I have consented, — but am not to be pre- judiced thereby, — and to let him have twelve to four- teen or fifteen morgens of land, without abridging my right, as he intended to distil brandy and make goat's, leather. 148 VOYAGES OF Anno As I WES daily with Commatider Kieft, generally ^^*^' dining with him when I went to the fort, he told me that he had now had a fine inn, built of stone, in order to accommodate the English who daily passed with their vessels from New England to Virginia, from whom he suffered great annoyance, and who might now lodge in the tavern. I replied that it happened well for the travellers, but there was great want of a church, and that it was a scandal to us when the English passed there, and. saw only a mean barn in which we preached; that the 'first thing which the English built, after their dwellings, was a fine church, and we ou^ht to do so too, as the West India Com- pany was deemed to be a principal means of uphold- ing the Reformed Eeligion against the tyranny of Spain, and bad excellent materials thei;efor, namely, fine oak-wood,, good mountain-stone, and lime burnt of ■ oyster-shells, much better than our lime in Holland. He then inquired who would superintend the work. I answered tbe lovers of the Reformed Religion who were truly so. He then said that I must be one of them, as I proposed it, and must give an hundred guilders. I told him that I was satisfied, and that he must be the first to give, as he was commander, and then elect Jochem Pietersz Kuyter, a devout person of the Re- formed Religion, who had good workmen who would quickly prepare the timber, and also elect Damen, because he lived close by the fort ; that we four, as churchwardens, should undertake the work of building the church ; that the commander should give several thousand guilders on behalf of the Company, and then it would immediately be seen whether the rest would DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VBIES. 149 be subscribed by the community ; that the church should be built in the fcrt, to guard against any sur- prise by the Indians. Thus were the walls of the* church speedily begun to be laid up with quarry-stone, and to be covered by the English carpenters with slate, or rather with oak-shingles ; which, by exposure to the wind and rain, turn blue, and look as if they were slate. About the same time, a harmless Dutchman, named Claes Rademaker, (wheelwright,) was murdered by an Indian. He lived a s-hort mile from the fort by the Densel-h&y^ where he had built a small house, and had set up the trade of a wheelwright. It was on the road, over which the Indians from Wickquas- geck passed daily. It happened that an Indian came to this Claes Rademaker, for the purpose of tra- ding beavers with him for duffels-cloth, which goods were in a chest. This chest he had locked up, and stooped down in order to take his goods out, when this murderer, the Indian, seeing that the man had his head bent over into the chest, and observing an axe standing behind him, seized the axe, and struck Claes Rademaker on the neck therewith, who fell down dead by the chest. The murderer then stole all the good* and ran off. The commander sent to Wickquas- geck to inquire why this Dutchman had been so shame- fully murdered. The murderer answered that while the fort was being built, he came with his uncle and another Indian to the freshwater, bringing beavers, in order to trade with the Dutchmen, that some Swannekes (as they call the Netherlanders) came there, took away from his uncle his beavers, and then killed him. He was 150 VOYAGES OF then a small boy, and resolved when lie should grow up, he would revenge that deed upon the Dutch, and ►since then he had seen no better chance to do so than with Claes Eademaker. Thus these Indians resemble the Italians, being very revengeful. Commander Kieft afterwards made an attempt to send some sol- diers there, of whom Van Dyck, the ensign-bearer, had the command, but in consequence of the darkness of the night, the guides missed the way, and arrived there too late in the day, so that the attempt failed, and they returned again without effecting anything. Another expedition against these Indians was subse- quently sent, which also miscarried. When Com- mander Kieft saw that these expeditions against the Indians miscarried, and that trouble would follow, and found that the people began to reproach him with be- ing himself safely protected in the fort, out of which he had not slept a single night, during all the years he had been there, and with seeking the war in order to make a bad reckoning with the Company, and be- gan to feel that the war would be laid to his charge, he called the people together to choose twelve men to aid him in the direction of the affairs of the country, of which number I was, as a patroon, chosen one. Commander Kieft then submitted the proposition, whether we should avenge the murder of Claes Eade- maker by declaring war upon the Indians, or not. We answered that time and opportunity must be taken, as our cattle were running at pasture in the woods, and we were living far and wide, east, west, south and north of each other ; that we were not pre- pared to carry on a war with the Indians until we had DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIBS. 151 more people, like the English, who make towns and villages. I told Commander Kieft that no profit was to be derived from a war with the Indians ; that he was the means of my people being murdered at the colony which I had commanded on Staten Island in the year forty ; and that I well knew that the mana- gers did not desire a war waged against the Indians, for when we made our colony in the year 1630, in the South river at Swanendael, otherwise called Hoere- kil, our people were all murdered through some trifling acts of the commander whom we had stationed there, named Gilles Oset, as I have already men- tioned in the beginning of my journal ; that it was then proposed to the Company to make war upon the. In- dians, but the Company would not permit it, and re- plied that we must keep at peace with the Indians. This I related to Commander Kieft, but he would not listen to it. It becomes the manager^to take care wTiat persons they appoint as Directors, for thereon depends the welfare of the country. Werie it the case that the East India Company had gone to work in the East Indies, as the West India Company here, they would soon have been there like the West India Com- pany ; but in the East Indies they make no person commander of a fort, if he be not well acquainted with the country, and have knowledge of the people sufficiently. But commanders are sent here whether they be fit or not. About this time also I walked to Ackingh-sack, taking a gun with me, in order to see how far the colony of Heer Vander Horst had advanced, as it was only a short hour's journey behind my house. On ap- 152 VOTAGES OF rroacliing Ackingtsack, about five or six hundred paces Jroin where the colony was started, an Indian met me who was entirely drunk. He came up to me and struck me on the arm, which is a token of friendship among them, and said that I was a good chief; that when he came to my house, I let him have milk and eve]'ything for nothing ; that he had just come from this house, where they had sold him brandy, into which they had put half water ; that he could scoop up the water himself from the river, and had no need of Imying it ; that they had also stolen his beaver-coat, and he wanted to go home and get his bow and arrows, and Avould kill some one of the villainous Swannekens who had stolen his goods. I told him he must not do so. I then proceeded on to the house of Heer Vander Horst, and I told some soldiers and others who were there that they must not treat the Indians in that man- ner, as they w^re a very revengeful people, and resem- bled the Italians in that particular. I then returned home, and on my way, shot a wild turkey weighing thirty pounds, and brought it along with me. I was not long home, when there came some chiefs from Ackingh- sack, and from Keckawanck, which was close by me, and informed me that one of their Indians, who was drunk, had snot a Dutchman dead, who was sitting on a barn thatching it. They asked me what they should do ; they said they durst not go to the fort ; that they would give one or two hundred fathom of Zeewan to the widow and then they would be at peace. I told them that they must go with me to the fort, and speak to the commander ; but they were afraid that, on going to the fort, he would not permit them to return home. I DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 153 made them of good heart, by telling them that I would deliver them safe hqme. They went with me, at length, to the fort ; and, going to Commander Kieft, told him the misfortune which had happened to them. He answered the chief of the Indians that he wanted the Indian who had done the act to be brought to him. They said that they could not do so, as he had run away a two day's journey to Tanditekes ; but they wished the commander to listen to them, as they de- sired in a friendly way to make the widow contented, and to pay for the man's death with Zeewan, which is their money ; it being a custom with them, if any misfortune befel them, to reconcile the parties with money. They laid the blame upon our people, saying that it was because we sold the young Indians brandy ox wine, making them crazy, as they were unac- customed to drink ; that they had even seen our peo- ple, who were habituated to strong drink, frequently intoxicated, and fight with knives. They therefore desired that no liquor should be sold to the Indians, in order to prevent all accident for the future. It seemed as if they had some fear that the governor would detain them, so.they answered him, that they would do their best to get the Indian, and bring him to the fort. They then took their departure ; but on the way they told me that they could not deliver up the Indian to him, as he was a Sackemaker's son, — that is to say, as above, a chief's son. And thus the matter passed off. 20 154 VOYAGES OP Of toTiat Genius and Gondition iJiis Nation of Men are, liow they are clothed, and what Magistrates they have. * As I have related the manner of living, and the ap- pearance, of the Indians at Fort Orange, I will state something of the nations aboutr Fort Amsterdam ; as the Hackinsack, Tapaense, and Wicquas-geckse Indi- ans ; and these are embraced within one, two, three, or four miles of the entrance of'the I'iver. Their manner of living is for the most part like that of those at Fort Orange; who, however, are a' braver, and a more mar- tial nation of Indians, — -by name, the Maquas, as before mentioned, and who hold most of the others along the river to Fort Amsterdam under tribute. The Indians about here are tolerably stout, Tiave black hair, with a long lock, which they let hang on one side of the head. The hair is shorn on the top of the head like a cock's-comb, as is shown in the plate. Their condition is bad. They are very revengeful ; resembling the Italians. Their clothing is a coat of beaver-skins over the body, with the fur inside in winter, and out- side in summer ; they have, ailso, sometimes a bear's- hide, or a coat of the skins of wild cats, or hefspanen, which is an animal most as hairy as a wild cat, and is also very good to eat. I have fi'equently eaten it, and found it very tender. They also wear coats of tur- key's feathers, whicTa they know how to put together ; but since our Netherland nation has traded here, they trade their beave^rs for duffels-cloth, which we give for them, and which they find more suitable than the beav'ers, as they consider it better for the rain ; and DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 155 take two and a half in length of duffels, which is nine an'd a half quarters wide. Their pride is to paint their faces strangely with red or black lead, so that they look like fiends. They are then valiant ; yea, they say they are mannette, the devil himself. Some of the women are very well-featured, having long countenances. Their hair hangs loose from their head ; they are very foul and dirty ; they sometimes paint their faces, and draw a black ring around their eyes. When they wish to cleanse themselves of their foulness, they go in the autumn, when it begins to grow cold, and make, away off, near a running brook, a small oven, large enough for three or four men to lie in it. In making it they first take twigs of trees, and then cover theip tight with clay, so that smoke cannot es- cape. This being done, they take a parcel of stones, which they heat in a fire, and then put in the oven, and when they think that it is sufficiently hot, they take the stones out again, and go and lie in it, men and women, boys and girls, and come out so per- spiiing, that every hair has a drop of sweat on it. In this state they spring into the cold water; saying that it is healthy, but I let its healthfulness pass; they then become entirely clean, and are more attrac- tive than before. The girls consider themselves to have arrived at womanhood when they begin to have their monthly terms, and as soon as they nave them,- they go and disguise themselves with a garment, which they throw over their body, drawing it over the head so that they can hardly see with their eyes, and run off for two or three months, lamenting that they must lose their virginity ; and they therefore do not 156 VOYAGES OF engage in any diversion by night, or other unseason- able time. This period being over, they throw away their disguise, and deck themselves with a quantity of Zeewan upon the body, head, and neck ; they then go and sit in some place, in company with some squaws, showing that they are up for a bargain. Whoever gives the most Zeewan is the successful suitor. They go home with him, and remain sometimes one, three, or four months with him, and then go .with another ; sometimes remaining with him, according as they are inclined to each other. The men are not jealous, and even lend their wives to a friend. They are fond of meetings to frolic and dance ; but the wo- men are compelled to work like asses, and when they travel, to carry the baggage on their backs, together with their infants, if they have any, bound to a board. We will now speah of the Productions of the Goiuntry^ and oilier things which serve for the sv/ppm-t of the life of Man. The productions are various. The principal one is maize, which is their corn, and which is called by us Turkish wheat. They pound it in a hollow tree, as may be seen in the plate. When they travel, they take a flat stone, and press it with another stone placed -upon the first, and when- it is pressed, they have little baskets, which they call notassen, and which are made of a kind of hemp, the same as fig-frails, — which they make to serve them as sieves, — and thus make their meal. They make flat cakes of the meal mixed with water, as large as a farthing cake in this country, DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 157 and bake them in tlie ashes, first wrapping a vine-]6af or maize-leaf aromid-them. When they are suffi- ciently baked in the ashes, they make good palatable bread. The Indians make use of French beans of dif- ferent colours, which they plant among their maize. When the maize (which is. sown three or four feet apart, in order to have room to weed it thoroughly) is grown one, two, or three feet high, they stick the beans in the ground alongside of the maize-stalks, which serve instead of the poles which we use in our Fatherland, for beans to grow on. In New Nether- land, the beans are raised on the maize-stalks, which grow as high as a man can reach, and higher, accord- ing to the fertility of the soil. There are also pump- kins, water-melons, and melons. They (the Indians) dry the nuts of trees, and use them for food. There are also ground-nuts and white ground-nuts, which are poisonous to eat — a mason of the Company having died in consequence of eating one of them. There also grow here hazel-nuts, large nuts in great quanti- ties, chestnuts, which they dry to eat, and wild grapes in great abundance. Our Netherlanders raise good wheat, rye, barley, oats,' and peas, and can brew as good beer here as in our Fatherland, for good hops grow in the woods ; and they can produce enough of those things which depend on labour, as everything can be grown which grows in Holland, England, or France, and they are in want of nothing but men to do the work. It is a pleasant and charming coun- try, which skould be well peopled by our nation only. Medlars grow wild and reversely from what they do in our country, as they grow in Holland open and 158 VOYAGES OF broad above, but here tbey grow up sharp, the reverse of those in*Holland. Mulberry trees there are too, so that silkworms could be raised, and good silk made ; and good hemp and flax, but the Indians use a kind of hemp, which they understand making up, much stronger than ours is, and for every necessary purpose, such as -notassen, (which are their sacks, and in which they carry everything) ; they also make linen of it. They gather their maize and French beans the last of September and October, and when they have shelled the corn, they bury it in holes, which they have pre- viously covered with mats, and so keep as much as they want for the winter and while hunting. They sow the maize in April and May. Of the Animals and Cattle, and liow tJiey Tiunt and catch tliem. There are great quantities of deer, which the In- dians shoot with their bows and arrows, or make a general hunt of, a hundred more or less joining in the hunt. They stand a hundred paces more or less from each other, and holding flat thigh-bones in the hand, beat them with a stick, and so drive the creatures be- fore them to the river. As they approach the river, they close nearer to each other, and whatever is be- tween any two of them, is at the mercy of their bows and arrows, or must take to the river. • When the animals swim into the river, the Indians lie in their canoes with snares, which they throw around their necks and drag them to them, and force the deer down with the rump upwards, by which they cannot draw DAVID PIETEESZ. DE VRIES. 159 breath. At the north, they drive them into a fuyh* which they make of palisades split out of trees, and eight or nine feet high, and set close to each other, for a distance of fourteen or fifteen hundred paces on both sides, coming together like a fuyk, as is shown in the plates ; the opening is one to two thou- sand paces wide. When the animal is .within the palisades, the Indians begin to come nearer to each other, and pursue it with g-reat ardour, as they regard deer-hunjing the noblest hunting. At the end of the fuyk it is so narrow that it is only five feet wide, like a large door, and it is there covered with the boughs . of trees, into which the deer or animal runs,, closely pursued* by the Indians, who make a noise as if they were wolves, by which many deer are devoured, and of which they are in great fear. This causes them to run into the mouth of the fuyk with great force, whither the Indians pursue them furiously with bows and arrows, and from whence they cannot escape ; they are then easily caught with snares, as may be seen in the plate. There are elks, chiefly in the mountains ; also hares, but they are not larger than the rabbits in Holland ; foxes in abundance, multitudes of wolves, wild cats, squirrels, — black as pitch, and gray, also flying squir- rels, — beavers in great numbers, minks, otters, pole- cats, bears, and many kinds of fur-bearing animals, which I cannot name or think of. The Indians under- stand the preparing of deer-skins, of which they make shoes and stockings, after their fashion, for the winter. * A peculiar form of net, large at the entrance, and terminatmg"in a snare. 160 VOYAGES OF Of the Fowl which come in the Miver^ and the Achtei^ Col* There are great numbers of two kinds of geese, whicli stay here through the winter, by thousands, and' which afford fine sport with the gun. One kind is the grey geese, which weigh fifteen or sixteen pounds each ; the other they call whitehe'ads, weighing six or seven pounds, very numerous, flying by thousands, and of good flavour. There are large quantities of ducks, wh'ich keep along the saltwater shore, and gulls, small star-birds,f snipes, curlews, and many other shore- birds, which I cannot give the names of The geese and ducks come here in September and leave in April. Many of the Indians say that they go to the river of Canada, where they breed their young ; for the fisher- men who sail to Newfoundland, find them there in great numbers in the summer time, when they are fishing there. On the fresh water are many swans. Land birds are also very numerous, such as wild turkeys, which weigh from thirty to thirty-six and fifty pounds, and which fly wild, for they can fly one or two thou- sand paces, and then fall down, tired with flying, when they are taken by the Indians with their hands, Avho also shoot them with bows and arrows. Partridges are numerous, but they are small. There are meadow- hens, as large as a year-old hen, and with feathers like those of a paijtridge ; and white and grey herons in great numbers. Nothing is wanted but good marks- men with powder and shot. Pigeons, at the time of * Newark Bay. f Star-vogeltjes. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 161 year when they migrate, are so numerous, that the light can hardly be discerned where they fly. There are white and gray cranes, and a species of blackbird, as large as what is called in our country the starling or thrush, and which makes its appearance at harvest, when the corn named maize is ripe. These birds are called maize-thieves, because they fall upon the corn by thousands, and do great damage. I have seen one of our Netherlanders ^ill, in the commander's or- chard at Fort Amsterdam, eighty-four of these birds •at one shot. They are good-tasted, and similar to the thrushes in Fatherland. I have also, seen, at different times, thirty to thirty-four pigeons killed at one shot, but they are not larger than turtle-doves, and their bodies are ex'actly like those of the turtle-doves in Fatherland, except they have longer tails. Of the hinds of Fish which frequent the Sea cmd River as far up as the hrachish and fresh water. There are.diflFerent kinds of fine fish on the seacoast for the wants of man, similar to those in Holland, as the codfish (in winter), haddock, plaice, flounders, her- ring, sole, and many more kinds of which I cannot give the names. There is a species of fish which by our«people is called the twelve* and which has scales like a salmon, and on each side six black streaks, which I suppose is the reason they call it twelve. It is the size of a codfish, very delicate, and good-tasted for eating ; the haad is the best, as it is full of brains like * Striped bass. 21 162 VOYAGES OF a lamb's head. The fish, comes from the sea into the river in the spring, about the last of March and April, and continues until the last of May. It is caught in large quantities and dried by the Indians, — for at this time the squaws are engaged in sowing their maize, and cultivating the land, and the men go a-fishing in order to assist their wives a little by their draughts of fish. Sometimes they catch them with seines from seventy to eighty fathoms in length, which they braid themselves, and on which, in place of lead, they hang stones, and instead of the corks which we put on them* to float them, they fasten small sticks of an ell in length, round and sharp at the end. Over the purse, they have a figure made of wood, resembling the devil, and when the fish swim into the net and ' come to the purse, so that the figure begins to move, they then begin to cry out and call upon the inaivnetoe,, that is, the devil, to give them many fish. They catch great quantities of this fish ; which they also catch in lit- tl'e set-nets, six or seven fathoms long, braided like & herring-net. They set them on sticks into the river, one, and one and a half fathoms deep. There is also another kind of fish on the seacoast, which is called thirteen'^' by us, because it is larger than the twelve. The scales of the thirteen are yellow like those of the carp, to which it is not unlike in shape. It is of -the size of a codfish. Herring also come into the river. There is a species of fish caught on the shore, called by us stone-bream, and by the English scliip-heet^ that is to say, sheep'' s-head^ for the reason that its mouth is * Drum-fish. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. ' 163 full of teeth, above and below, like a sheep's head. Sturgeon are numerous in the brackish water, and aa high up in the fresh water as Fort Orange. There are many kinds offish which we have not in our Fatherland, so that I cannot name them all. In the fresh waters, are.- pike, perch, roach, and trout. There are fine oysters, large and small, in great abundance. In the summer- time crabs come on the flat shores, very good tasted. Their claws are of the colour of the flag of our Prince of Orange, white and blue, so that the crabs show sufficiently that we ought, and that it belongs to us, to people the country. In what mamier the Indians hwry their Dead. They make a large grave, and line it inside with boughs of trees, in which they lay the corpse, so that no earth can touch it. They then cover this with clay, and form the grave, seven or eight feet, in the shape of a sugar-loaf, and place palisades around it. I have frequently seen the wife of the deceased come daily to the grave, weeping and crying, creeping over it with extended body, and grieving for the death of her husband. The oldest wife by whom he has had children does this ; the young wife does not make much ado about it, but looks out for another husband. They keep a portion of the dead in the house. I have seen at the North, great multitudes of Indians assembled, who had collected together the bones of their ancestors, cleaned them, and bound them up in small bundles. They dig a square grave, the size and length of a person, and over it erect 164 VOYAGES OF four pillars, whicli they cover with the bark of .trees, as may be seen in the plate ;* they set a time when they will bury them, when all the friends will have a great gathering, and bring ample supplies of provisions. It is accordingly announced in their village, that a great festival is to be held, with frolic and dancing. 'This festival continues ten days, during which time their friends come from other na- tions on aW sides, in order to see it held, and the accompanying ceremonies, which are attended with great expense. Under cover of these ceremonies, dances, feasts, and meetings, they contract new alliances of friendship with their neighbours ; saying, that as the bones of their ancestors and friends are together in the little bundles (which appear in the plate), so may their bones be together in the same place, and that as long as their lives shall last,- they should be united in friendship and concord, as were their ancestors and friends, without being able to be separated from each other, like as the bones of the ancestors and friends of each other were mingled togethei". One of them — their chief, a magician — delivers a speech over the bones (saying), " that if they remain thus united, their enemies can have no power over them." They then bury the bones in the grave, with a parcel of Zeewan, and with arrows, kettles, knives, paper, and other knick-knacks, which are held in great esteem by them, and cover them with earth, and place palisades around them as before related. Such is the custom on the * The reference to figures in different portions of the nan-atiye, is made to plates in the original work. See Introduction. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 165 coast in regard to the dead. The chief doctrine held among them is the belief in the immortality of the soul by some. Others are sceptical on this point, but not far from it, saying, when they die they go to a place where they sing like the ravens ; but this singing is entirely different from the Singing of#he angels. Hmo the Indians at the -North arm themselves when they go to War. When I was at the North, I saw Indians who were going to war. "^hey were armed as the figures show ; their weapons were bows and arrows in the manner shown, which they carry daily, and each one had in his hand a shield of leather as thick as buffalo-skin. I took it to be elk's-hide, as these animals are numerous there. If they wish to take a journey in winter, when there is snow on the ground, they bind two things under their feet, like the racket with which we strike the balls at tennis, in order to prevent them from sinking in the snow, as may be seen on the figure (of the man), who is accompanied by his wife. This* is a Representation of them when they da/nce and have a Feast. When they dance they stand two and two beside each other, which I have seen at the north. They dance in two, three, and four pair^ The first pair carry a tortoise in their hands, as this nation say that * Referring to the plate. 166 VOYAGES OF they have descended from a tortoise-father, at which I laughed. They then asked me where our first father came from. I said he was called Adam, and was made of earth. They said I was a fool to say that he was made of a thing that had no life. I replied that it was full of life, fcjj it produced all the fruit upon which they lived. Tuiey answered that the sun, which they looked, upon as God, produced it, for in summer he drew the leaves from the trees, and all the fruits from the ground. Anno 1643. The 22d February, there broke out a war among the Indians. The Mayekanders, who came from Fort Orange, wanted to levy a contribution upon the In- dians of Wickquasgeck and Tapaen, and of the ad- jacent villages. There were eighty to ninety of them, each with a gun on his shoulder. There came flying to my house, four to five hundred Indians, desiring that I would protect them. I answered them that I could not do it, as the Indians at Fort Orange were our friends, and that we could not interfere in their wars ; that I now saw that they were children, that they were flying on all sides from eighty or ninety men, when they were themselves so many hundred strong ; that it was displeasing to me that they should be such soldiers, as it was to mannetoe himself, — that is to say, the devil ; but that I saw now that they were only children, g^s my house was full of Indians, and I had only five men with me, I made ready to go to the fort to obtain some soldiers for the purpose of having more force in my house. So I took a canoe, as my DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 167 • boat was frozen up in the kil, and went in the canoe, or hollow tree, which is their bo§:t, as before related, between the cakes of ice, over the river to Fort Am- sterdam, where I requested Governor Kieft to assist me with some soldiers, as I was not master of my own house, because it was so full of Indians, although I was not afraid that they would do any harm ; but it was proper that I should be master of my own house. The Governor said he had no soldiers ; that I must see how it would be in the morning, and stop at night with him, which I did. The next day the Indians came in troops on foot from my house to Pavonia, by tl»e Oysterbank, where the great body of them encamped. Some of them came over the river from Pavonia to the fort. I spoke to some of them, and they said that they had all left my house. These Indians went • to Correlaer's bouwery, where there were some In- dians from Reckeweck, opposite the fost, on Long Island, who were under a chief, named J^ummerus, whom I well knew. The 24th of February, sitting at the table with the governor, he began to state his intentions, that he had a mind to wipe the mouths of the Indians ; that he had* been dining at the house of Jan Claesz. Damen, where Maryn Adriaensz. and Jan Claesz. Damen, to- gether with Jacob Planck, had presented a petition to him to begin this work. I answered him that there was no sufficient reason to undertake it ; that such work could not be done without the approbation of the Imelve men ; that it could not take place without my assent, who was one of the twelve men ; that moreover I was the first patroon, and no one else hitherto had 168 VOYAGES OF risked there so many thousands, and besides being pat- roon, I was the first to come from Holland or Zeeland to plant a colony ; and that he should consider what profit he could derive from this business, as he well knew that on account of trifling with the Indians, we had lost our colony in the South river at Swanendael, in the Hoere-kil, with thirty-two men, who were mur- dered in the year 1630 ; and that in the year 1640, the cause of my people being murderied on Staten Island was a difficulty which he had with the Raritaense Indians, where his soldiers had for some trifling thing k^led some Indians, and brought the brother of the chief a prisoner to the. Manruotes, who was ransomed there, as I have before more particularly related. But it appeared that my speaking was of no avail. He •had, with his co-murderers, determined to commit the murder, deeming it a Roman deed, and to do it with- out warning, the inhabitants in the open lands, that each one might take care of himself against the retali- ation of the Indians, for he could not kill all the In- dians. When I had expressed aM these things in full, sitting at the table, and the meal was over, he told me he wished me to go to the large hall, which he had been lately adding to his house. Coming to it, there stood all his soldiers ready to cross the river to Pavonia to commit the murder. Then spoke I again to Governor William Kieft : " Stop this work ; you wish to break the mouths of the Indians, but you will also murder our own nation, for there are none of the farmers who are aware of it. My own dwelling, my people, cattle, corn, and tobacco will be lost." He answered me, assuring me that there would be no dan- DAVID PIETERSZ. DB VRIES. 169 ger ; that some soldiers sliould go to my house to pro- tect it. But that was not done. So was this business begun between the 25th and 26th of February in the year 1643. I remained that night at the governor's, sitting up. I went and sat in the kitchen, when, about midnight, I heard a great shrieking, and I ran to the ramparts of the fort, and looked over to Pavonia. Saw nothing but firing, and heard the shrieks of the Indians murdered in their sleep. I returned again to the house by the fire. Having sat there awhile, there came an Indian with his. squaw, whom I knew well, and who lived about an hour's walk from my house, and told me that they two had fled in a small skifl:'; that they had betaken themselves to Pavonia'; that the Indians from Fort Orange had surprised them ; and that they had come to conceal themselves in the fort. I told them that they must go away imme- diately; that there was no occasion for them to come to the fort to conceal themselves ; that they who had killed their- people at Pavonia were not Indians, but the Swannekens, as they call the Dutch, had done it. They then asked me how they should get out of the fort. I took them to the door, and there was no sentry there, and so they betook themselves to the woods. "When it was day, the soldiers returned -to the fort, having massacred or murdered eighty Indians, and considering they had done a deed of Roman valour, in muriJering so many in their sleep ; where infants were torn from their mother's -breasts, and hacked to pieces in the presence of the parents, and the pieces thrown into the fire and in the water, and other suck- lings were bound to small boards, and then cut, stuck, 22 170 TOYAGES OF and pierced, and miserably massacred in a manner to move a he .rt of stone. Some were thrown into the river, and when the fathers and mothers endeavoured to save them, the soldiers would not let them come on land, but made both parents and children drown, — children from five to six years of age, and also some old and decrepit persons. Many fled from this scene, and concealed themselves in the neighbouring sedge, and when it was morning, came out to beg a piece of bread, and to be permitted to warm themselves ; but they were murdered in cold blood and tossed into the water. Some came by our lands in the country with their hands, some with their legs cut off, and some holding their entrails in their arms, and others had such horrible cuts and gashes, that worse than they were could never happen. And these poor simple creatures, as also many of our own people, did not know any better than that they had been attacked by a party of other Indians, — the Maquas. After this ex- ploit, the soldiers were rewarded for their services, and Director Kieft thanked them by taking them by the hand and congratulating them. At another place, on the same night, at Corler's Hook on Corler's planta- tion, forty Indians were in the same manner attacked in their sleep, and massacred there in the same man- ner as the Duke of Alva did in the Netherlands, but more cruelly. This is indeed a disgrace to our nation, who have so generous a governor in our Fatherland as the Prince of Orange, who has always endeavoured in his wars to spill as little blood as possible. As soon as the Indians understood that the Swannekens had so treated them, all the men whom they could surprise on DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VEIES. 171 the farm-lands, they killed ; but we have never heard that they have ever permitted women or children to be killed. They burned all the houses, farms, barns, grain, haystacks, and destroyed everything they could get hold of. So there was an open destructive war begun. They also burnt my farm, cattle, corn, barn, tobacco- house, and all the tobacco. My people saved them- selves in the house where I lived, which was made with embrasures, through which they defended themselves. Whilst my people were in this state of alarm, the In- dian whom I had aided to escape from the fort came there, and told the other Indians that I was a good chief, that I had helped him out of the fort, and that the killing of the Indians took place contrary to my wish. Then they all cried out together to my people that they would not shoot them ; that if they had not de- stroyed my cattle they would not do it; that they would not burn my house ; that they would let my little brewery stand, though they had melted the cop- per-kettle, in order to make darts for their arrows; but hearing now that it (the massacre) had been done contrary to my wish, they all went away, and left my house unbesieged. When now the Indians had de- stroyed so many farms and men in revenge for their people, I went to Governor William Kieft, and asked him if it was not as I had said it would be, that he would only effect * the spilling of Christian blood. Who would now compensate us for our losses ? But he gave me no answer. He said he wondered that no Indians came to the fort. I told him that I did not wonder at it ; " why should the Indians come here where you have so treated them ?" 172 VOYAGES OF The 4tli of March, there came three Indians upon Long Island, with a small white flag, and called out to the fort. Then Governor William Kieft asked who would go over to them. There was no one who was will- ing to do so, among all of them, except Jacob Olfersz and I, David Pietersz. de Vries. We went to the three Indians. They told us that they came from their chief, who had sent them to know the cause why some of his Indians had been killed, who had never laid a straw in our way, and who had. done us nothing but favours ? We answered them that we did nOt know that any of their Indians were among them. They then said we must go and speak with their chief, who had fled seven miles from there on the seacoast. We re- solved to go with the Indians, for we believed that they were well disposed towards us two. At evening we arrived at Mechqua Ahie, where we found the chief, who had only one eye, with two or three hundred Indians, and about thirty houses. They led us into his house, and treated us to what they had, as oysters, and fish, which they catch there ; told us we were tired, and must rest a little ; they would early in the mornipg speak to us about the business upon which we had come there. During the night, I went out of the house, when there came an Indian to me, as the moon was shining, and told me I must come into his hut. I then went into' his hut, and by the light saw he was an Indian, who lived half a mile from my house at Vriessendael, with his squaws, who lived there with him, at which I was alarmed. Then he assured me, saying, that I was a good chief, and that I came to make Hancontyn DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 173 Maruit ; that is, in their language, to make a peace. I asked them how they came so far from their dwelling. They answered that they were out a-hunting with these Indians, and had friends among them. I then returned to my comrade in the house of the chief. When the day began to dawn, we were awakened, and taken by an Indian, who led us into the woods about four hundred paces from the houses, and when we came there, sixteen chiefs were there of this Lone Island, which is thirty miles long. They placed us two by ourselves, and seated themselves around us, so that we sat within a ring. There was one among them who had a small bundle of sticks, and was the best speaker, who began his oration in Indian. He told how we first came upon their coast; that we some- times had no victuals; they gave us their Turkish beans and Turkish wheat, they helped us with oysters and fish to eat, and now for a reward we had killed their people. Then he laid down one of the sticks, which was one point. He related also that at the beginning of our voyaging there, we left our people behind with the goods to trade, until the ships should • come back ;* they had preserved these pe'ople like the apple of their eye ; yea, they had given them their daughters to sleep with, by whom they had begotten children, and there ran many an Indian who was' be- gotten by a Swanneken, but now our people had become sovillainous as to kill tlfeir own blood. He then laid down another stick. This laying down of sticks began to be tedious to me, as I saw that he had * See Note A. 174 VOYAGES OF many still in his hand. I told him that I knew all these things which he had told ; that as to what hap- pened to the Indians of Long Island, we were ignorant of any of them being with the other Indians ; they shonld go with us to the fort, where the governor would give them presents for a peace. The speaking now ceased and they gave to each of us ten fathoms of Zeewan, — which is their money,- — each fathom being worth four guilders. Then they all rose up and said that they would go with us to the fort, and speak with our governor William Kieft. We went to the canoes for the purpose of going, and to make the jour- ney shorter than when we came, for it took full three hours to go. When we reached the canoes, we found that the tide had not yet began to make, and that we must wait some time before it would be flood. In the mean time, an Indian came running up with a bow and arrow, who had come, on a run six miles on behalf of a chief w'ho had not been with us, and asked the chiefs who were going with us to the fort if they were so foolish as to go to the fort where there was such a villain, who had caused their friends to be so foully murdered ; and who, when so many of the chiefs were together at the fort, would keep them there, and thus all the Indians would be in distress, being without heads or chiefs, and the chief from whom he came would be entirely without adV'isers. They then asked us two if we understbod what he said. We answered that this was a silly Indian, that they would find it otherwise, and would return home with good presents. Then one of the chiefs who knew me said we will go on the faith of your word, for the Indians have never DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VBIES. 175 found you to lie as they have the other Swannekens. Finally, twenty of us went sitting in a canoe or hollow tree, which is their boat, and the edge was not more than a hand's-breadth above the water. Arrived at the fort about three o'clock in the afternoon. William Kieft came and made peace with the Indians, and gave them some presents. He requested them to bring those chiefs to the fort who had lost so many Indians, as he wished also to make a peace with them, and to give them presents. Then some of them went and brought the Indians of Ackin-sack and Tapaen and the vicin- ity, and the chiefs came forward, to whom he, made presents ; but they were not well content with them. They told me that he could have made it, by his pre- sents, that those days would never again be spoken of; but now it might fall out that the infants upon the • small boards would be remembered. They then went away grumbling with their presents. The 20th of July, a chief of the Indians came to me, and told me that he was very sad. I asked him wherefor. He said that there were many of the In- dian youths, who were constantly wishing for a war against us, as one had lost his father, another his mother, a third his uncle, and also their friends, and that the presents or recompense were not worth taking • up ; and that he would much rather have made pre- sents out of his own purse to quiet them ; but he could no longer keep them still, and that I must be careful in going alone in the woods ; that those who knew me would do me no harm, but I might meet Indians who did not know me, who would shoot me. I told him that he ought to go to Commander Kieft at the fort, 176 VOYAGES OF and tell the same things to him. We went to the fort, and coming' to the commander, the chief of these In- dians told the same things to him. Commander Kieft told this Indian he was a chief of the Indians, and must kill these young madcaps who wished to engage in a war with the Swannekens, and he would give him two hundred fathoms of Zeewan. I then laughed within myself, that the Indian should kill his friends for two hundred fathoms of Zeewan, — that is eight hun- dred guilders, — to gratify us. It is true that they do so towards each other, when they are at enmity with each other, but not at the will of foreigners. Then the Indian said this could not be done by him ; that there were many malcontents. Had he (the governor) paid richly for the murder, it would have been entirely for- gotten. He himself would do his best to keep them quiet, but he was afraid he could not, for they were continually calling for vengeance. The 28th of September, arrived a herring buss from Rotterdam ; the master was named Jacob Blenck. He was laden with a hundred pipes of Madeira wine, and had come by the way of the West Indies, wishing to go to the Virginias, but could not find them, and had sailed quite to New England. He could not sell his wine there, because the English there live soberly. He was compelled to return, and came along the coast inside of Long Island, through Hellgate to Fort Am- sterdam ; and coming here he could not expose his wines for sale, because here was a tax upon wines which the Company had established. He sold his wines to an Englishman to be taken to the Virginias. As he could find no one who could pilot him to the Virginias, DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 177 he asked me if I would take Mm there, as he under- stood that I wished to go there in order to take a well- mounted ship for Pat/ria, because my farms, where I had begun my colonies, -were lying in ashes; and the Indians were discontented and desired to go to war again, or to have satisfaction. I promised the skipper that I would take him there, and told him that he must provide himself with provisions here, for it was diificult to obtain them in the Virginias, because every one there only produced for himself. The 1st of October, nine Indians came to the fort at Pavonia, where there were three or four soldiers stationed to protect a farmer who lived there, named Jacob Stoffelsz, towards whom they were so well dis- posed, that they did not wish to kill him. So they made a pretended errand, and persuaded him to go over to the fort (Amsterdam), and he came over ac- cordingly ; then they went under the guise of friend- ship, when the soldiers hafl. no arms in their hands, and killed them all, except the son of his wife by a former marriage, whom they took with them captive to Ta- paen. They set fire to the farm-house and all the other houses at Pavonia ; and thus began a new war. The next da"^ the governor came to me with the step- father of the boy that was made prisoner by the In- dians. He was the son of Cornells Van Vorst. The governor asked me if I would go to the Indians to obtain the release of the boy, as nobody dare go to the Indians except me. I said I would speak to one or two Indians ; but if I brought them to the. fort, they must not be misused, for they would come with me upon my word. So I went over to Long Island 23 178 VOYAGES OF and brouglit with me two Indians to go to Tapaen to obtain the, release of the boy. When I rought the Indians over, every one wanted to kill them, and I had enough to do to save them. I took them to a priva- teer which was lying there, which carried them away, and they released the boy. The 8th of the same month I took my leave of Com- mander Kieft, and left in the Rotterdam mer buss for the English Virginias ; and, in taking leave of William Kieft, I told him that this murder which he had com- mitted was so much innocent blood ; that it would yet be avenged upon him, and thus I left him. Sailed past Staten Island to the headland at Sandy Hook, where we were detained two days by contrary winds. Picked each day some blue-plums, which are abundant there, and grow there naturally wild.* The 11th, weighed anchor to sail from Sandy Hook to the Virginias, with a north-west wind and a weather shore. The 12th, at daylight, the wind from the south- east straight on a leeshore, and it began to blow hard. We were in twelve fathoms water. When it was day, the skipper asked me if I knew where I was. I told him we must run into eight or nine fathoms, when we would be able to distinguish the land ; but he was afraid of the shore, as he had never been here. Finally ran into shallower water, when he asked me if I knew the country. I said. Yes ; and I saw that we were by Cape May, before the South river. He then inquired of me whether we could not sail straight in. I said, * These plums are still found there. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 179 No ; that it was all over full of shoals, that we must enter at the south-west side. He then threw the lead, and had four fathoms, at which he was startled. I told him he must lay down the lead ; that of my own knowledge'it was all a shoal there. We then came by Cape Hinloopen in deep water, when I told him he might" throw the lead, and he would find eight to nine fathoms, as he ran into .the South Ba.j, close by the shore. We sailed in by the shore, and he said : " I was in this same place aver seven weeks, and there were Indians here on land, and a-fishing, and I went ashore with my skiff, and spoke Spanish to them, but they could not understand me. It was so full of shoals, I ran again out to sea and proceeded to New England." Then I said to the skipper: "Had you known the Indian language as I know it, you would not have sailed to New England. This land is called Swanendael, and these Indians destroyed a colony in the year 1639, which I began. Had you been able to speak to them, they would^ have taken you up the river to the Swedes, or to our people, who would have informed you that you had passed by the Virginias." I sailed up the Bay west by north along the west shore ; at evening came before the river by the Huige- Bosjen' where we anchored in four fathoms, hard bottom, and in the morning weighed anchor. The 13th, sailed by Reed Island, and came to the Vercken-s-hil, where there was a fort constructed by the Swedes, with three angles, from which they fired for us to strike our flag. The skipper asked me if- he should strike it. I answered him, " If I were in a ship belonging to myself, I would not strike it, because I had 180 VOYAGES OF been a patroon of New Netherland, and the Swedes were a people who came into our river ; but you come here by contrary winds and for the purposes of trade, and it is therefore proper that you should strike." Then the skipper struck his flag, and there came a small skiff from the Swedish fort, with some Swedes in it, who inquired of the skipper with what he was laden. He told them wiA Madeira wine. We asked tliem whether the governor was in the fort. They answered. No ; that he was at the third fort up the river, to which we sailed, and arrived at about four o'clock in the afternoon, and went to the governor, who welcomed us. He was named Captain Prins, and a man of brave size, who weighed over four hundred pounds. He asked the skipper if he had ever been in this river before, who said he had not. How then had he come in where it was so full of shoals ? He pointed to me, that I had brought him in. Then the governor's koopman, who knew me, and who had been at Fort Amsterdam, said that I was a patroon of Swanendael at the entrance of the Bay, destroyed by the Indians in the year 1630, when no. Swedes were known upon this river. He (the governor) then had a silver mug brought, with which he treated the skipper with beer, and a large glass of Rhenish wine, which was g!ven to me. The skipper traded some wines and sweetmeats with him for [>eltries, beaver-skins, and staid here five days from contrary winds. I went once to Fort Nas- sau, which lies a mile higher up, in which the people of the West India Company were. I remained there a half a day, and took my leave of them, and returned at evening to the Governor of the Swedes. DAVID PIETEESZ. DE TRIES. 181 The 19th, I went with the governor to the Minck- quas-kil, where their first fort was, and where there were some houses. In this little fort there were some iron guns. I staid here at night with the governor, who treated me well. In the morning, the ship was lying before the Minckquas-kil. I took my leave of the governor, who accompanied me on board. We .fired a salute for .him, and thus parted from him; weighed anchor, and got under sail, and came to the first fort. Let the anchor fall again, and went on land to the fort, which was not entirely finished ; it was made after the English plan, with three angles close "by the river. There were lying there six or eight brass pieces, twelve-pounders. The skipper ex- changed here some of his wines for beaver-skins. The 20th of October, took our departure from the last fort, or first in sailing up, the river, called Elsen- burg. The second fort of the Swedes is named Fort Christian ; the third, New Gottenburg. We weighed anchor and sailed from the river; arrived at noon at Cape Hinloopen, and put to sea. Set our course along the coast south-west, quite southerly at first. The 21st, we arrived in the Virginias, and passed by the fort into the Bay of Kicketan, where the skip- per inquired for his factor, to whom he had letters, who immediately came aboard, and directed that he should sail up the river with his wines to Jamestown, where the governor h^s his residence. - The 22d, we arrived before Jamestown, in our lan- guage called Jacob-Stadt — so named after the old king. I went with the skipper to the governor, who inquired whence he came, and what lading he brought. He said 182 VOYAGES OF that lie was consigned to a factor, and liad sold his wines. Some Englishmen stood there wlio knew me, and that I had been in the Virginias Tjefore, in the time of other governors, and that I was the captain who, in the year 1635, when the Tortugas behind the Island of Spaniola were overrun, had saved the lives of fifty Englishmen who were wanderitig on the sea, almost without provisions, and would have perished, if I had not saved them and brought them to the Virginias, where many of them still lived. This they told .to the governor, although they said I had not spoken of it. There was a person interpreting the- skipper, and they told the governor that I could speak good English, although I had been silent. Then the governor asked me why I came there, as he under- stood I had been there with my ships in the times of other governors. I answered him that I had begun to make a colony at the Dutch plantation upon Staten Island, but it was destroyed through the acts of the governor, who had provoked a war with the Indians, so that I came here to seek a passage to London, and thence to my Patria. He said I must remain the win- ter here, until the ships should leave with tobacco in the spring, and he would provide me a good ship, in which I would be well treated ; but I must remain with him till then, and I should have as good as he had himself, for I was a man who had seen the world, and had sailed as a commander over all of it ; that he had heard many speak of me before I came into the country now; that I had treated their nation well, and on that account he should use me well, and would have my society during the winter, as he was fond of. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 183 and in need of society. This governor was named Sir William Berkeley Knight, I thanked him for his kind offer, and said that I had promised the skipper to aid him-, as he had never been here ; but I would try to come occasionally for four or five days ; which I did do. We proceeded with the ship one hundred and seven miles further up the river to Florida, where we discharged a portion of the wine ; and I went daily from one plantation to another, until the ships were ready, and had their cargoes of tobacco. I saw here the old practice of the English of losing their servants by* gambling: I also saw here an Indian and a squaw of this country, whom they call SasTce AnneecTc^, hab- ited as shown "in this plate. I occasionally examined their plantations, and found that the lands which had been exhausted by tobacco-planting, were now sown with fine wheat, and some of them with flax. This should be done in New Netherland. Here were n5w lying full thirty ships to be laden with tobacco, altogether fine English ships of twenty-four to twenty- eight, and eighteen guns, and also four Holland ships, which make a great trade here every year. This should be done in New Netherland, for it is all one kind of tobacco that grows here and in New Netherland, and also in the South river, where it is not different, and in process of time twenty ships could be used in New Netherland ; and ships with grain also go from thence with hemp and flax. Nothing is wanting but to carry men there, for the land upon this coast, is . very fertile. And to this end a law should be enacted, forbidding leaf-tobacco, which the English bring here ; as the English have done in their country, forbidding 184 VOYAGES OF foreign ships to take tobacco from there. Then would New Netherland quickly flourish ; for now all that is carried from New Netherlaad, amount yearly in peltries to a hundred thousand guildei's, or hardly so much, and the members of the Company are so jealous of each other, that it is not worth the while to have a company, for they are at a great expense there ; but the land being free, as in the English- Virginias, every one working for his own nation, and everything pro- duced by labour out of the ground, millions would be returned, and the land populated at once ; there would be no want of cargoes of the productions of the earth, as there is of peltries. Such would be the result of labour, as everything in the Eastern countries, and in other lands, is produced by it, corn, hemp, and flax. In course of time the country would become populous ; and if we should again engage in a war with our old enemy, the King of Spain, we would be able ^ do him great damage in the West Indies, for we could sail from this country to the West Indies in from fourteen days to three weeks ; but it takes sometimes three or four months from the Texel. We could pro- ceed from here, and have every opportunity to make and equip our ships, and furnish them with provisions in New Netherland. ' The 10th of April, as I had now passed most of my time, during the winter, in going up and down the river, I went down to Jamestown to the governor, to thank him for the friendship which had been shown me by him through the winter. There was lying there a brave ship of twenty-eight guns, to the cap- tain of which he recommended me to go over with DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 185 him, who answered that the best in the cabin was at my service, and that I must have my goods carried on board. In going down to Jamestown on board of a sloop, a sturgeon sprang out of the river into the sloop. We killed it, and it was eight feet long. This river is full of sturgeon, as also are the two rivers of New Netherland. When the English first began to plant their colony here, there came an English ship from England for the purpose of fishing for sturgeon ; but they found that this fishery would not answer, be- , cause it is so hot in summer, which is the best time for fishing, thart th§ salt or pickle would not keep them as in Muscovy, whence the English obtain many sturgeon, and where the climate is colder than in the Virginias. The 13th of the same month, took my leave of the governor, with my thanks, and drifted down the river to Blank Point, where there was a large fly-boat lying, mounting twelve guns, from Brustock, and there came two Londoner's sailing down the river, intending to capture this fly-boat from Brustock (? Bristol), because the Brustock people adhered to the King, and the Londoners to the Parliament. So there was a sharp engagertient with the fly-boat, which sailed into the creek at Blank Point, and the Londoners could not get nearer to it than a couple of musket shots, because their ships drew too much water. They did what damage they could to each other with cannon shot, and some people were killed. At evening they ceased firing. We went on board of one of the London ships at evening, which did not now come to the land, be- cause the governor and all the people of the country 24 186 VOYAGES OF were in favour of the King. These two ships were compelled to go to London without tobacco. They went in company with us. I was on board of one of these Londoners the night, and in the morning I went into the creek at Blank Point, and went on board of the fly-boat from Brust, which was damaged some by the two ships, and had lost a man who was a planter of the country, who had come oh board to buy some goods. After we had examined her, we went ashore at Blank Point, where*a captain lives who is one of the council of the country, and holds a court every week. He has three or four persons of his ■ council sitting with him. There all suits are tried, and those who are not satisfied with the judgment which is- given, appeal to Jamestown, where a monthly court is held by the governor, who presides, and all the captains of the country, who are the judges. Every two or three miles has a captain, according as the places are popu- lated. I passed the night here with this captain, whose name was Captain Matthews, and who was the first who began to populate this part of the Virginias. Although the Virginias are so unhealthy, they con- tain ten or eleven thousand men and women. The 25th (? 15th) of April I took my leave of this captain, who was a good friend to me, and with whom I had formerly good correspondence. The English there are very hospitable, but they are hot proper per- sons to trade with. You must look out when you trade with them, Peter is always by Paul, or you will be struck in the tail ; for if they can deceive any one, they account it among themselves a Roman ac- tion. They say in their language, " He played him an DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 187 English trick ;" and then they have themselves well- esteemed. After I had taken my departure, I went leisurely walking to Newport, where the English ship was lying, taking in water, a ship of twenty-eight guns. Whilst I was on my way, it became very foggy in the woods where I was walking, and I could not see the sun. I came to two roads, and did not know which to take. I at length took the largest road, which led me to a pond of fresh water, which was four or five hundred paces in circumference, and about five or six feet deep, and there ran across it a dyke, over fifty paces long, and about six feet broad, which was made by the animal they call the beaver. It was set with stakes in the ground as thick as my arm, and boughs and earth had been brought in, as if done by men's hands. The trees stood there, from which this animal had sawed off the boughs with his teeth. It was wonderful to see that such an animal could make a dyke to hold the water so that it could not run out in the summer ; and it was also wonderful to see that this animal had built a little house on the side of this pool, in shape like a hive, about one and a half fathoms high, with three stories. "When the water of this pool rises in the winter, he retires to the highest story. The house has eight or ten holes ; if they are beset when they are in their houses, they have holes through which they can take to the water. On what- ever side they may be attacked, they have a way of escape. These animals are good to eat, and taste like lamb's flesh ; I have eaten of it several times. I pro- ceeded on my journey, and went wandering in the woods, and was afraid that I had, in consequence of 188 VOYAGES OF the fog, missed my way, and that this beaver's path had misled me, and the evening was coming on apace. At last I saw at a distance an old burnt tree, to which I came. It appeared to have been burnt by the In- dians, as the Indians in New Netherland do, where by every spring an old tree is to be found burnt. I went by this spring to rest myself, and put my ear to the ground to listen if I could hear the voices or noise of men. I could hear nothing. I took a pipe of to- bacco, and drank of the water, which tasted the best I had ever drank. I found water-cresses growing wild at this spring, and I eat of them, and was refreshed. I then heard a great noise, which startled me, as the night was approaching. I looked in the direction the noise came from, and J saw from thirty to forty deer coming on a full run towards me. They came to drink at this spring, and almost ran upon me before they discovered me. It began to clear away, so that I saw the sun, when I found that I had been going away from the habitations. I took my course by. the sun, and having run about a half an hour, the sun went down, and I was distressed. At length I heard a dog barking, and I ran towards the noise, and came to a creek where an English house stood, and where they built boats ; there was a carpenter there who carried me over the creek, and bid me welcome,- and was glad that he had me in his house, as I had, some years ago, on board of my ship, well treated him, and he hoped to treat me well now. He immediately killed a tur- key and some chickens. I considered this a better supper than to be lying in the woods all night at the mercy of the wolves and bears, and that without arms. DAVID PIETERSZ. DE VRIES. 189 So I related to him my adventure. I said, in conse- quence of there being no sun, I had followed the largest path, and had taken the beaver's path. He said that he would in the morning give me a guide who would take me to the great river, and if I went along the stream of the river, I could not go astray. I took my leave of this Englishman in the morning, wh.o had treated «ne so well, and thanked him for his hospitality. I went thence along the river to Newport, where the ships, eleven in number, were all lying ready for sea, the least of them mounting from eighteen to twenty-eight guns. Went the same evening to Kicketan by the fort. The 18th, the whole fleet weighed anchor and got under sail. The 1st of May, we sounded in eighty fathoms, sandy bottom, upon the bank which stretches across on the west of Ireland. It began to grow calm. The 2d of May, we obtained sight of England and fourteen English* Parliament ships met us. Our eleven prepared to fight them, supposing them to be the King's ships ; but coming up to them, found them to be friends ; and all sailed on quietly together. Ran along the English coast, and arrived the last of May in the Downs, where I tarried eight or ten days, and heard the shots which were fired before Greveling, which the king of France had besieged. The 15th of June, I left the Downs for the Mase, and reached Goree on the morning of the 16th, where I hired a wagon to take me to Briel, and on the morning of the lYth, I arrived at Rotterdam, where I stopped a day or two, and on the 21st of June, in the year 1644, by the mercy of Almighty God, arrived here within 190 VOYAGES, ETC. my paternal city of Hooru, where I have an ancestry of two hundred years on the father's side, and at Am- sterdam on my mother's side, and came to my house at thi'ee o'clock, for which our God must be eternally praised, that he should have brought me again to my Fatherland, after such long and tedious voyages, and through so many perils of savage heathens. Note A . See page 173. The Long Island Sachem, in reproaching the Dutch, at Rockaway, for their ingratitude towards his natio^ who had given them^provisions when they first came upon tlie coast, and had permitted them to pass the winter among them, with then- goods to trade, while their ships returned to Holland, indirectly throws light upon a question which is of some historical importance, — that relating to the first European settlement in the territory of New Yo*. These transactions had hap- pened within the life-time of the speaker, and under his own eyes. The statement ' was not contradicted by those to whom it was addressed, and who must, in defence' of their national character, have repelled it, if false ; and it tTierefore may be taken as strictly true. Historians of our state, both in and out of it, have sought to give an earlier date to the building of houses on Manhattan Island tlian any authentic evidence which we have seen will justify, fixing it as early as 1 6 1 3. The author of this pretension, flattering now perhaps to local pride, — ever anxious to establish an early origin for the state, — but then intended for a fraudulent purpose, was the writer of " The Description of the Province of New Albion."* He asserts that Sir Samuel Argall, on his return from his expedition to Nova Scotia, landed at that time on Manhattan Island, where he found four houses. But this assertion is a part only of a gross fabrication, contrived by the writer of it, in order to aid a title under the British Crown, as will presently be shown. Contemporaneous authorities enable us to state, almost with certainty, when and under what cu-cumstances the settlement took place, and to them we wiU first direct attention, ^ Hudson made his discovery in 160.9, but remained only a month in the river. The first voyage after his was made by Heudrick Christiaensen (who had passed along the coast in a previous voyage to the "West Indies, but did not venture in the river,) and Adrian Block, who chartered a ship, commanded by Skipper Ryser, on their 'joint private account, and visited Hudson's river, returning to Holland with two Indian youths. The period of their visit is not ^ated by Wassenaar, who is the principal authority for this voyage -,1 but he expressly states that this was the first voyage, and places it before Christiaensen's connection with the Company, organized under the general authority or grant of the States General of the 27th March, 1614; for he says that Christiaensen, after he dissolved his connection with Block, made ten voyages by virtue of that grant, and the special grant made on 11th of October, 1614, in pursuance of the general one, sets forth that Block and Christiaensen had been on discovery to New Netherland, in command of separate ships, owned by certain private merchants of Amsterdam and Hoom, therein named, * Printed in London in 164S, and reprinted by Mr. Force, "Washington, 183T. t Historisch Verliael. Sub anno 1624. 192 NOTE. iu that year, under the encouragements of the Genera] Octroy. So that the partner- ship of Block and Ghristiaensen must have been dissolved before then, and allowing time for their return on their own joint voyage, previous to the 2'7th March, 1614, when the General Octroy was passed, we may fix the time of that voyage in 1613, or one of the other three years succeeding Hudson's discovery ; but in which yeai- in particular, we have no further means of determining, than that De Laet, and after him Stuyvesant (probably on the authority of De Laet), in bis letter of the 20th of April, 1660, to the General Court of Massachusetts, say it was in 1610. In which- ever year it was, there is lio further account of their doings than as here given, which by no means countenance the supposition that they built any habitations. It is true that the West India Company, in a memorial to the States General, in 1634, state that one or two forts were built in New Wetherland before 1614, but • where they do not say ; and it is to be observed that they speak loosely of a fort or forts, which were built by another Company than their own, and are contradicted by earlier authority. ■ The second voyage after Hudson's, was that of an expedition sent out by the Association formed under the Octroy of March, 1614, by the merchants of Amster- dam and Hoorn, before referred to. It is expressly stated that this voyage was undertaken under the pledges of this Octroy ;* consequently, it was after the 27th March, 1614. There were five ships, among which were the Tiger and the For- tune, under the command, respectively, of Block and Christiaensen, as before stated. It returned, as fairly may be assumed, within fourteen days previous to the granting of the special Octroy of the 11th of October, 1614, inasmuch as the Octroy of March required a report to be made within that period after the return from a voyage, to entitle the discoverers to exclusive privileges ; and the Resolution of the States General granting those privileges, states the fact that a deputation of these merchants was present to make their report on tliat day, the 11th of October. It occupied tliem, therefore, a term of about six months, to sail to and get returns from Ne^ Netherland. The first buildings in New Netherland, of which the Dutch writers make mention, were forts, constructed for defence, and occupied as trading posts and habitations. The first one was built in 1614^15 at Castle Island in the North river, near Albany. De Laet says in one place it was 1614, and in another 1615. It was probably constructed as soon after the ^rant of the exclusive privileges was made to the Private Company as they could send back and have it done, and therefore after October 11th, 1614 ; or if not then, at all events after the first Octroy of March in that year. No mention is made by him, however, of any fort thus early on Manhattan Island. De Laet also informs us that Block's sliip (the Tiger) was accidentally burnt in 1614, and that he constructed here a yacht, with wliich he explored Long Island Sound, and that while near Cape Cod, he fell in with Christiaensen, and leaving the yacht, returned with him to Holland. The Company, in a memorial to the States General on the 18th of August, 1616, as recited in their resolution of that * See tLc Resolution of the States General in HoU. Doc. I. 39. NOTE. IQg date state that the yacht was bmlt on its account; confirming the statement of De Laet that the yacht was built as late as the summer of 1614 This yacht which was caUed the Onrust, or Restless, was left here in command of Cornelii Hendncksen, who afterwards returned to Holland, and made a report of his dis- coveries m what is caUed the second voyage of the Company. Hendricksen's ■ report was presented to the States General on the IStb August, 1616, doubtless immediately on his arrival home.* He was thus two winters in Wew Netheiland, those of 1614-16 and 1615-16. The Company continued to have voyages made hither until the expiration of their privileges on the first of Januaiy, 1618, when the trade was thrown open, and continued so until the establishment of the West India Company and settlement by it in 1621-3. De Vries, in the passage now under con- sideration, reports the Indians as stating that the Dutch wintered here for the purpose of disposing of their goods.f It is quite certain that Hendi-icksen was left in charge of them, and made bia discoveries in disposing of some of them ; for De Laet in- forms us that the yacht built by Block, was left here for the purpose of trading further, — " ende liet de jacht doer op de custe om iiorder te handelenr It does not appear, if they erected temporary huts to live in, while building the yacht, or in which to store their goods, where they were put up, and fi-om the claim being set forth by a Long Island chief, of aid by his people dui-ing the period, it is quite as probable that they were erected on Long Island, or elsewhere than on Manhattan Island, as on that Island. After the expiration of the three years of exclusive privilege to the company of merchants, voyages continued to be made to the Hudson river on private account until the estabhshment of the West India Company, for the purposes of trade, to the post at Castle Island.^ The first vessels sent out by that Company went up the river with some colonists, who built Fort Orange above the fort of Castle Island, in 1623. In one of these ships, called the New Netherland, were a number of families of Walloons, some of whom, according to tradition, settled on Long Island, at the Bay, fi-om them called the Waaleboght ; but whether at this time or not, is quite uncertain. Wassenaar states that the colony on Manhattan Island was planted, and Fort Amsterdam commenced to be built on it in 1626-6, which is the 'earUest period which we have seen mentioned of any settlement on that island, by any reliable authority ; and it is to be remarked that the same annalist, in speaking of the supplies sent out by the West India Company in the year 1625, says that they were sent to the colony near the Maykans (Mohicans) on the river Mauritius, or, in other words, to Fort Orange ; and is entirely silent as to any other colony ah-eady estabhshed on that river. Such, succinctly, is the history of the progress of the Dutch, as given by them- selves, in the territory of the State of New York, until the first settlement on * HoU. Doc. 1. 58, et Beq. t De Laet, in Novus Orbis, Book III. c. T, also speaks of their wintering here. The statement in the Breeden Kadt, that it took them two winters to build the yacht, is preposterous, as well as in direct contradiction to De Laet % Holl. Doc. I, 91. Dermer, in Gorges' BriefNarration, 11* and 30, 81. De Laet, in Nieuwe Wereldt, 93. "Wassenaar, suh anno 1626. Letter of Sir Dudley Carlton in Lond. Doc. I. 9. 25 194 NOTE. Manliattan Island. There is, however, a circumstance derived from another source, corroborative of the view here presented of the point under examination. It is the visit of Captain Thomas Dermer to New York Bay in 1619. This person had been despatched by the Plymouth Company in England, with a ship, to the coast of New England. Leaving his ship at Monhegan, on the coast of Maine, he set out on the 19th of May in that year, in a small pinnace, to explore the coast to the south, for the purpose of discovering a passage to the South Sea ; and, " in my way," says he, " I discovered land thirty leagues in length, heretofore taken for mayue, where I feared I had been embayed, but by the helpe of an Indian, I got to sea again, through many crooked and straight passages. * * * * Once the savages had great advantage of us in a streight not above a boweshot, and where a multitude of Indians let fly at us from the banke ; but it pleased God to make us victours ; neere unto this we found a most dangerous catwract amongst small rockie islands, occasioned by two unequal tydes, the one ebbing and flowing two houres before the other : here we lost an anchor by the strength of the cur- rent, but found it deepe enough ; from hence were wee carried in a short space by the tyde's swiftness into a gi'eat Bay (to us so appearing), but indeed is broken land, which gave us h'ght of the sea ; here, as I said, the land trendeth southerly. In this place I talked with many salvages, who told me of two sundry passages to the great sea on the west ; offered me pilots, and one of them drew mee a plot with chaUie upon a chest, whereby I found it a great island parted the two seas ; they report the one scarce passable for shoalds, perillous currents, the other no questions to be made of Having received these directions, I hasten to the place of greatest hope, where I pui'posed to make triall of God's goodnesse towards us, and use my best endeavour to bring the truth to light, but wee were only shewed the entrance wherein seeking to passe, wee were forced backe with contrary and overblowing windes, hardly escaping both our lives. Being thus overcharged with weather, I stood alongst the coast, <&c."* Here we have his passage through Long Island Sound, Hellgate, and the East river, to New York Bay, broken with islands, and through the Bay and Narrows to the ocean. The two passages, which he supposed the Indians meant, to a western sea, were the Hudson and Raritan rivers, and the one of them of greatest hope, which he attempted to ascend, was the Hudson. The savages were of the tribes who held the conference with De Vries, and knew whether there were any Dutch on Manhattan Island ; yet Dermer saw no build- ings, or other indications of a settlement on the island, though he coasted along it on both rivers, and heard of none fi-om the Indians. This we may conclusively infer from his silence; because in an account of his return voyage from Virginia to Monhegan, he does not omit to mention his meeting with certain Hollanders who had a trade in Hudson's river, — a circumstance of far less importance than the fact of an actual settlement there. The Hollanders whom he met were undoubtedly those in the ship commanded by Cornelis Jacobsen May, which was in the Chesapeake * Purchas, IV. 177S-9. This letter of Dermer was dated at Captain Martyn's plantation in Virginia, 27tli Dec., 1619, and waa published by Purcbas in 1626. In the above extract, he fur- nishes a remarkably accurate description of our rivers and bays. NOTE. 195 iu 1620* May was one of the five shipmasters sent out by the Private Company in 1614, and appears to have continued making voyages to New Netherland until 1624, when he was appointed the first Governor of New Netherland under the West India Company, resident at Fort Orange. Dermer does not state where he met the Hollanders, but probably in the Chesapeake.f It was the information communi- cated by him to the Plymouth Company of the Dutch trade in Hudson's river, thus accidentally learnt from May, that led to the inquiries on the subject by the British government, through its minister at the Hague, Sir Dudley Carlton, hereafter referred to. Dermer, therefoi-e, would not have omitted to state the important fact of their being houses on Manhattan Island, if there had been any when he sailed by it. Independently of the statement of the author of the description of New Albion, it is clear not only that no evidence exists to show a settlement as early as 1613, but that we have most satisfactory proof of the contrary. As before intimated, however, his statement on this point is part and parcel of a story intended to show the title of the English to the territory by right of early conquest. We propose, therefore, to examine this pretension particularly, and to demonstrate its utter falsity. His account is in these words : — " The Virginia being granted settled, and all that part now called Maryland, New Albion, and New Scotland, being part of Virginia, Sir Thomas Dale and Sir Samuel Argall, captains and counsellors of Virginia, hearing of divers aliens and intruders and traders without licence, with a vessell and forty soldiers, landed at a place called Mount Desert in Nova Scotia, neer S. John's river or Twede, possest by the French, there killed some French, took away then- guns, and dismantled the fort, and in iheir return, landed at Manhatas Isle in Hudson's river, where they found four houses built, and a pretended Dutch governour, under the West India' Company of Amsterdam share or part ; who kept trading-boats, and ti'ucking with the In- dians ; but the said knights told him their commission was to expell him and all alien intruders on his Majestie's dominion and territories, this being part of Virginia, and this river an English discovery of Hudson, an Englishman — the Dutchman con- tented them for their charge and voiage, and by his letters sent to Virginia and re- corded, submitted himself, company and plantation to his Majesty and to the governour and government of Virginia ; but the next pretended Dutch governour, in maps and printed cards, calling this part New Netherland, failing in paying of customes at his return to Plymouth in England, was there with his Bever goods and person attached to his damage of 1500Z. ; whereupon, at the suit of the Govemour and Councell of Virginia, his now Majesty, by his embassadour in Holland, complain- ing of the said aliens' intrusion on such his tenitories and dominions, the said Lords, the States of Holland, by their pubUque instrument declared. That they did not avow, nor would protect them, being a private pai'ty of the Amsterdam West India Company, but left them to his Majestie's will and mercy."|: There are some circumstances which, at the outset, are calculated to throw dis- * De Laet in Nieuwe "Weieldt, t Gorges' Brief Narration, 11. X Force's reprint, 18. 196 NOTE. credit upon this statement I. It does not purport to be founded on any personal knowledge or documentary or other evidence ; but it is a naked assertion, not con- temporaneous, made thirty-four years after the transactions are alleged to have taken place. II. The author, who styles himself Beauchamp Plantagenet, and who is otherwise an unknown person in the colonization of America, if not a ficti- tious one, put forth the story for the purpose of establishing title in himself As, therefore, he states as facts, matters which were not notorious or established already in the known history of the time, we may reasonably refuse to admit their truth. III. 11^ is not mentioned or alluded to by those contemporaneous writers, who not only possessed every means of knowledge on the subject, but were the historians of Ai'gall's expedition. Thus, Ralph Hamor, who was in Virginia when Argall re- turned, and who gives a distinct account of Virginian affairs, and mentions the expedition ;* Purchas, who discusses the rights of the English in this country, and fui nishes an account of Argall's attack upon Fort Royal ;f De Laet, who also relates the expedition against the French ;l Gorges, who sustains the right of the English and his own grant of a part of New Netherland, and mentions the com- plaint to the Dutch government, made by the English through Sir Dudley Carlton, in 1621 ; are all silent as to any visit by Argall to Manhattan. Governor Bradford, of Plymouth colony, offers this negative testimony in a peculiarly striking and satis- factory manner. In reply to a letter from the Dutch authorities in New Netherland, proposing to send a deputy to confer with the Plymouth colonists, he cautions them of the danger which might befall the messenger on his passage, adding this remark (dated Plymouth, August 14, 1627), " If you hght either in the hands of those in Virginia, or the fishing-ships which come to New England, peradventure they will make prize of you, if they can, if they find you trading within those limits, as they surprised a colony of the French not many years since which was seated within those iounds."% The governor, writing as he was to the Dutch, would have illustrated the danger of their falling into the hands of pirates, not only by Argall's attack upon the French, but most appropriately by that upon the iden- tical colony he was addressing, if any such had taken place ; of which he must have known as well as the other. "With him, we have five original and reliable authorities, — contemporaries of Argall, — wi'iting of the events in the colony of Vii-ginia, under different circumstances, for different objects, and without concert or reliance on each other, — one present with Argall himself in Virginia, another in England, collecting everything, whether documentary or oral, in reference to this counti-y, — a third, a director of the Dutch West India Company, writing iu Hol- land a history which is conceded to be the most authentic and full, as regards facts relating to North America, then written, — a fourth, interested, as a grantee from the Crown of England of a part of New Netherland, in producing every fact bearing upon the right of the English, who disputes the right of the Dutch, and therefore would not omit so strong a circumstance against it as their subjection by * True Discoarse of the present Estate of Virginia, 35-37. t Pilgrimes IV. 1S07, and margin. i Nieuwe Wereldl, Tl-9. § 3 Mass. Hist. Coll. 53. NOTE. 197 Ai'gall, — and the fifth, in the adjoining colony in New England, who speaks of the jealousy of the Dutch on the pai-t of his own countrymen, — unitedly silent, when each and all of them must and would have mentioned, the affair, if it had ever happened. Against this cxtraordinaiy omission of authentic wi'iters, we have the unsupported assertion of a pamphleteer many years after the event, writing for the purpose of aiding a land speculation, founded on a title which was sought to be upheld by another fraud, — that of a pretended grant from the King of England.* It b true that Samuel Smith, Chalmers, Ebeling, Belknap, Holmes, and Banci'oft, credit the story, but they rely upon Plantagenet and Stith as their authorities. Heylin and De Britaine, writing subsequently to Plantagenet in the same century, give no authority, but evidently borrow from him. The accm'ate Pjince, it may be remarked, does not give it any credit. Stith says that Captain Ai'gall, in his retm-n from Port Royal, visited the Dutch settlement on Hudson's river, demanded possession, and the Butch governor submitted both himself and colony to the Ejng of England, and to the Governor of Virginia under him. He gives no authority for this statement, but it is evident, from his repeating the en-or as to the Dutch governor, presently to be referred to, that it is taken from Plantagenet. He does, indeed, say in the next paragi'aph, that we are indebted to Ralph Hamor for this part of the history of Virginia ; but if he intended to give Hamor as authority for this statement, it is untrue. Hamor says nothing of a visit to Manhattan ; though, as before observed, he speaks of Argall's voyage to Port Royal, and of his sup- planting the French there. Hamor, it may also be observed, in addition to what is said above, appears, in his book, as the eulogist of Argall, whom he accompanied on hie retui'n to Virginia as governor, in 1617. He would have been the last one to omit so signal an exploit of his pati'on, as this was claimed to be, if it had ever happened. But be this as it may, he affords no testimony on the subject for the statement of Stith. There is, therefore, no authority for the statement, except Plantagenet. But, passing by these circumstances of discredit, let us look at the story as it is told. The writer asserts that Argall found at Manhattan four houses built, and a Dutch governor under the West India Company. Now, the time of Argall's return to Virginia, fi-om his expedition, can be fixed precisely. Champlain says that he left Port Royal on the 9th of November, Ul^,\ so that he must have reached Vir- gbia before the termination of that year. He found then, according to this stoiy, four houses and a Dutch governor in command at Manhattan, several months be- fore the first grant of the States General to their subjects, which was passed, as we have seen, on the 27th of March, 1614, and nearly a year before the chai-ter of Special Pi-ivileges, by which alone the Private Company acquii-ed its light to make any trading establishment. It is of course idle to controvert the statement that the governor was under the West India Company, established, as it was, eight years after the pretended event ; but, supposing the writer to have meant a governor * See Note to the translation of the Tertoogh Van Nien Nederland, in N. T. Hist. Coll. 2d series, vol. ii. 323. t Champlain's Toyages. Book III. c. i. Ed. of 1830. 198 NOTE. under the PriTate Company, it is quite' as evident that there could have been none at the time assigned for the submission of that functionary, namely, on the return of Argall fi-ora Nova Scotia. The writer says further, that the governor submitted in writing to the Enghsh, in a letter recorded in Virgmia. No such letter has ever been found or mentioned by any chronicler of the events in the history of Virginia, or other writer, as it would have been if it had been made a record. Stith, who had the means of knowing of its existence, and who was indefatigable in the details of the history of Virginia, rejects it as untrue, inasmuch as he does not repeat this part of the account, while he admits the rest of it. Thus material portions of the relation are shown to be utterly false, discrediting by every rule of argument the whole of it. Another misstatement, not so material, but showing the general inaccuracy of Plantagenet, is, that Sir Thomas Dale accompanied Argall to Nova Scotia. This was not so ; but as Purchas has it, m the margin before cited, " Sir Thomas Dale was governor, and sent him," (Argall.) "We must, moreover, summon Argall himself to bear testimony against this claim. In 1621, eight years after the alleged transaction, Argall, who was one of the associates in the Company with Gorges, Mason and others, united with thera in a remonstrance to King James, complaining that the Dutch had within the past year possessed themselves of the country and were about sending ships there again ; but he says nothing of the former possession of the Dutch, and their submission to himself, which, as affording the strongest argument for the interference of the government, he would have done, if it had been true. An order of Council reciting this remonstrance was made, directing Sir Dudley Carlton, the minister at the Hague, to present the matter to the States General, and to have the plantation stayed.* Carlton made inquu-ies, and answered, under date of 6th Feb. 162*7, as follows: — " I could find no more in the matter, but that about four or five years since, two par- ticular companies of Amsterdam merchants began a trade into those parts betwixt forty and forty-five degrees, to which, after their manner, they gave their own name of New Netherland, a South and a NortliSea, aTexel, a Vlieland, and the like, where they have ever since continued to send ships of thirty and forty lasts at the most, to fetch furs, which is all their trade ; for the providing of which they have certain factors there, continually resident, trading with savages, but I cannot learn of any colony either already planted there by these people, or so much as intended."! This must be taken as a part of Argall's own testimony — that is, furnished by him. It corroborates the facts before stated, from other sources, in relation to the date of the first Oompanies' trading to New Netherland, and negatives the alleged conquest of ArgalL In conclusion, we have the evidence of Captain John Mason, who was one of Argall's associates, and who gives a history of the Dutch encroachments in a letter addressed to Sir John Coke. That letter is also important, as it was un- doubtedly the source from which Plantagenet derived the facts from wliich he * See the Despatch of the Lords Privy Council in O'Callaghan, I. 96. t Lend. Doc. I. 9. The original letter of Carlton ia in the possession of the writer of this note. NOTE. 199 fabricated the story in question. It is too long to be given liere entire, but an ex- tract will explain the points under consideration. It is dated April 2, 1632, and states: "In the year of our Lord God, 1621, or thereabouts, certain Hollanders were upon the coast of New England, trading with the Indians, between Cape Cod and the Bay de la Wan-e. * * The said Hollanders as interlopers fell into the middle, betwixt the said plantations (Virginia and New England), and at their re- turn published a map in the Low Countries of the said seacoast, under the title of New Netherlands, giving the name of the Prince of Orange to the country and river of Manahata, and giving other Dutch names to other places as fai- as Cape Cod. And Sii- Samuel ArgaU, Knt., with many English planters, were preparing to go and sit down in his lot of land upon the said Manahata river, at the same time when the Dutch intruded, which caused a demur in their proceeding, until King James, upon complaint of my Lord Arundel, with Sir Ferdinando Gorges, Knt. and the said Sir Samuel ArgaU (formerly Governor of Virginia), and Captain John Mason, of the said Dutdi intruders. Anno 1621, had by his Majesty's order, a letter to the Lord of Dorchester, their Ambassador at the Hague, questioned the States of the Low Oountiies for that matter, which the Lords the States by answer of (heir ambassador, Sir Noel Can'on, did disclaim, disavowing any such act."* Sir Samuel ArgaU's lot was a grant by the Plymouth Company, within whose bounds Man- hattan was situated. Taking ArgaU's attack upon Nova Scotia and his subsequent interest in Manhattan under this grant, together with the disclaimer of the Dutch government, it is easy to perceive the materials out of which the statement of his subjugation of the Dutch was manufactured ; while we have u-refragable proof in the acts of ArgaU and his associates, and of the British government in not claiming the right which the conquest by ArgaU would have conferred, at the time when its assertion was important, and the evidence of it was within themselves, of the entire falsehood of the story. * Lond. Doc. I. 20. O'Callaghan, I. 415. BiLLiN AKD Brothers, Printers.